Believe In Me
by Yuki Kimagure
Summary: [RikuxSora] [LxC] It's the last day of high school and Sora looks forward to going to college with his girlfriend Kairi. But when his long time bully, the jock Riku Oohira, decides to make up for years of terror, will something happen instead? YAOI R&R!
1. Phase 00: Trust Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney does.

A/N: Hey all! This story was something that came to my head when I was pondering for my other story. This will most likely be short and simple. I plan it to be a oneshot but I'll leave it open if you guys want more to continue. Well, not much to be said. Enjoy and Review!

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Phase 00: Trust in Me

* * *

It was the last day of high school. Everyone was excited, taking pictures, signing yearbooks, and planning out what they would do over the summer. Sora was simply tired and rested his head on his desk. Nothing was really important about the day, it just felt like every other school day. It felt like a Monday with pizza and movies.

Everyone seemed so sad that they were leaving their lifetime friends behind. They even hugged people that they had hated since the second grade as if they were family. It was all so fake to him. They were just acting out on fake emotions based on the fear of going out on the world alone. It was funny to watch.

The bell for the last class to end rang and everyone cheered. People were crying and some were laughing and dancing around. Instead of joining the celebration, the brunette was satisfied enough to walk out and to the street. Walking home was more of a thought in his mind, he had wanted to sleep in and miss the whole day but his mother insisted that he was there on his last day.

"That's all I ask from you Sora. Is it that hard to let me have that?" he remembered her whine as he shoved his messenger bag onto his shoulder. He wasn't even allowed to get a bite to eat cause he was already late. So she shoved a handful of munni into his hand and sent him out on his way to boredom.

"This was a complete waste of time," he sighed as he walked his way down the long hall to the main entrance. Couples were having their last make out sessions as high school students and the Goths were giving the last finger to the school, cursing the faculty to hell. That part made him laugh a little. "Well I guess that was some amusement."

All he wanted to do was to go home and sleep off the summer quickly until it was time for him to go to college. It was called Besaid University and one of the best colleges in the region. It was a big athletic school and one that was close to the water. Sora picked out this school purely on that, and a bit from the full scholarship as well. There, he had a girlfriend too.

Her name was Kairi, Kairi Yuuhi. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with long maroon hair that lightly curled at the ends and bright violet eyes that would look up to him cutely. But she wasn't just someone to look at, she had guts. It was Kairi that was last year's class president, captain of the water polo team, swim team, and the second captain in the tennis team. She loved sports and was the one who got him into blitzball in the first place.

Dreaming of his girlfriend, he walked past the sporting fields on his way out of the school. Some of the jocks were still hanging out, talking about what the great keg parties were going to be and how many girls they were going to bang over the summer. They were a rowdy group so Sora never felt the need to associate with them.

He stood at the corner, pressing the button and waiting for the light to turn when he heard the clattering of fence behind him. It was Riku, the jock considered most likely to create a new STD. He wasn't really the one who slept with the most girls. Ansem had successfully taken about a quarter of the school's female population in his four year run, not including the upperclassmen that had already left to greener pastures. But it was Riku who was the tease. With his seductive eyes and milky white skin, he was every inhabitant of the school's wet dream, men, women, upper and lower classmen, and even a few of the faculty as well.

One rumor he had heard was that he had a fling with the Home Ec teacher Inuya Kurasaki and that caused her to quit when he had moved on. In other words, Riku was a heartbreaker and bad trouble. Plus he seemed to fall into his share of fights as well.

Landing on the cement next to him, the intruder shook off his tense muscles from the fall and smiled boyishly. "That was a high fall. Who the hell needs a double fence anyway right? Twice the height, better the climb," he said with a hand upon his hip.

Sora never liked the guy. Even when they had started together in kindergarten, he was a brat. He would always terrorize him, calling him a crybaby till the second grade, saying that he was an avid bed wetter until the fifth grade, and then saying he made out with his cousin until he was in the eight grade. Then the rumors that he had spread about him began to die down. He thought that Riku might have just begun to grow up when finally he sent out his last batch of socially damaging speculations.

To the whole school, Sora was considered to be the awkward virgin who, since he couldn't get appropriately aroused, had turned gay. It started at the beginning of last year when Riku was at the end of his nice streak. Because of his grades, he had to work harder in school to get into college and to even graduate. Because of his focus on that, he didn't really take the time and extra brain power to terrorize him anymore. Nor anyone else for that matter.

However, just as Sora began to befriend his crush Kairi, Riku was out of the hole and had a little more time to spare. So the one day when Sora had the 'nerve' to tell him off in class when he was harassing another girl, the first phase of the rumor started.

"It's not my fault you're a seventeen-year-old virgin Sora. Don't blame it on me." Those words then started it all. The class had been laughing at him and the rumor spread, much to the brunette's chagrin. Then, when Kairi decided to back him up when they were teasing him about it again, Riku sent out phase two.

"It's perfectly fine to be a virgin! At least he doesn't go around fucking everything that he thinks could_ possibly _have a vagina like you do!" she yelled, causing the other students to yell out their 'oh!'s', waiting for the rebuttal. It was in Chemistry and Riku simply reclined in his chair and folded his arms, a casual grin on his face.

"Well, it's not my fault he has a disorder. Some people have to be born gifted and some… not." Kairi had then slapped him right across the face and stormed out of the room, leaving the poor and frightened teacher to yell at her from his safe spot at his desk. That one was agony to him. All of the girls would simply stare at him and then at his crotch, giggling at him. The guys would all just laugh and make calls at him, calling him "E-D."

Then, the third and final blow hit. It was in the middle of PE, of all places. Sora was hanging out with his best friend Tidus on the bleachers when Riku and his group came in.

"Get out, you're in our spot," said Ansem, cold amber eyes glaring at the two. Tidus looked around and raised an eyebrow. Everyone was sitting there or hanging out below. There were no designated spots anywhere, no tape, tagging, or discolored stains from sodas or other things that could even say that it was their spot.

"What the hell are you talking about? There's nothing to say its yours so back off! You know you all hang out where all the pussy is anyway and that's at the _other_ side of the bleachers," said Tidus, gesturing to the flock of giggling and gossiping girls at the other side. Ansem glared dangerously, making Tidus stick out his tongue childishly. He didn't have to worry about getting in trouble by their group because his mother was best friends with Ansem's mother.

"Don't worry about it Ansem," began Riku in a deliberately low tone. He then continued to say something about Sora and walked off. This caught the unfortunate boy's attention.

"What did you say Riku?" yelled Sora back at them, causing the said boy to turn back with a devilish grin.

"I said let them be alone anyway. If Sora wants to get fucked up the ass, so be it." This seemed to reverberate across the whole section, making every student out there hear it. There was an uproar of laughter and Sora reddened in embarrassment. It was humiliating and he could hear Tidus belt out a string of curses before he and Riku got into a fight, tumbling in the dirt.

Ever since that, he had looked forward to leaving that accursed school, not because of the people, just because of Riku. Tidus still stuck with him and told him not to worry because Riku was a prick and would probably get fucked up the ass anyway. This always made him laugh.

Now the evil menace was before him, checking over his jeans to make sure he hadn't made any holes in them from the climb. "Well are you gonna say something or not?" said the silver haired teen, frowning at him. Sora simply rolled his eyes and pushed the button yet again. Why the hell wasn't the light turning? It was two fucking minutes already!

Sora glared at him when he ran a casual hand through his hair. "Are you intimidated by me and my sexiness?" he asked flirtatiously, making Sora choke up in laughter.

"Me? Intimidated by _you_?" he said before giving a cruel grin. "Why be intimidated with the devil when he's stuck in hell anyway?"

Riku simply glared at him. "Well fuck you then. And here _I_ was, trying to be _nice_ for once. It's our last damn day, show some respect!"

"Me show you respect? After terrorizing me for twelve plus years? For making my life so much harder than it needed to be? You can go and fuck yourself with your last minute empathy!" he yelled. Sora was infuriated at the nerve of him trying to apologize now. It was too late. Why not apologize last year when he had started up his terror all over again? Or even the last couple of months ago?

He yelled a 'thank God' when the light turned green for him to walk. "Fucking finally!" he said as he stormed off. In the next couple of months he was going to leave that hell hole of a school with Riku in it. Then he could be with his girlfriend and live happily ever after, joining a fraternity and blitzing.

"Hey! How about I take you to lunch or something!" yelled the devil from behind him. What was he doing now, following him? This was getting well and annoying as he started to walk faster.

"No! Leave me the hell alone!" he yelled catching a few pedestrians off guard. In moments, Riku jogged up next to him and matched his pace. 'Damn him for being a jock.'

"Just let me prove myself to you and treat you out. I just got my allowance." So what if he had gotten his three hundred munni allowance from his over adoring father. Since his parents were divorced, his father had always spoiled him to no end with gifts and munni. That was probably why he was the selfish prick that he was now.

"Just leave me the hell alone Riku. You've bugged me enough already." They turned the corner and Sora began to be even more annoyed. He was starting to get hungry and really looked forward to hopping on the bus to get to the mall.

He saw the bus stopping down the street and he panicked. "Oh crap! HEY! WAIT!" he yelled, waving his arms as he ran down the street. Getting to the door, he waved his bus pass and sat down at the next possible seat. Leaning his head against the cool window, he tried to catch his breath.

"You are pretty hard to catch up with you know," said Riku as he sat down next to him, kicking his legs up onto the seat in front of them. Sora growled in frustration and pressed his face farther into the window.

"I accept your apology for being an ass okay? Just let me spend the rest of my day in peace," he said with an exasperated sigh.

"But I didn't buy you dinner yet. I feel as if I need to repay you somehow."

"Yeah… repay me with jumping out of the bus into incoming traffic…" Sora mumbled as he looked out the window.

* * *

"So Sora, where are you going to college? You seem like the smart type. That or you really don't have a life," said Riku as he started on his pasta. They were now at an expensive Italian restaurant and were feasting on expensive meals. Deciding to play it safe, Sora ordered a simple lasagna and was carefully slicing at it, checking over each part for some kind of 'special ingredients' that would make it cost so much. To him it was all beef pasta and cheese, pure and simple.

"Oh, uh college?" he said, caught off guard.

"Yes, what college are you going to? Yevon? University of Migdard Sector 1? Kalm University?"

"I'm going to Besaid University, me and Tidus."

Riku raised an eyebrow at this and frowned.

"What? Did you bomb your entrance exams?" he said, irking the once clamed Sora yet again.

"Well I wanted to go there for the location and that they have a good blitzball team," Sora replied angrily, shoving more of the lasagna into his mouth.

"Sorry! I just thought that those would be the type of schools that you'd apply for."

"Well, Mr. Smart Ass, where are you attending?" he asked, waiting for something like the North Island Community College.

"Actually, I got accepted to Yevon U, U of Midgard 1, 3, and 7, Wutai International School of Arts and Culture, Zanarkand U, and Besaid. But I felt like attending Besaid as well."

Sora almost fell out of his chair at the list of so many prestigious schools he had been accepted in. He was that smart to get in all of them? No amount of butt kissing from his father could get him into all of those schools.

"You got into them all? What rank are you in the school?" asked the brunette, eyes wide. The other boy casually looked up in thought.

"I dunno, number six or seven I think? Doesn't really matter, I wasn't one of the top two and that's what my father wanted."

"Screw your father! You were accepted into Yevon _and_ Zanarkand! Those schools are nearly impossible to get into at the same time!" yelled Sora, hands on the table. "Why the hell did you pick something stupid like Besaid!"

"Keep it down Sora!" said Riku quickly, waving away the concerned maître d'. Sora blushed at the eyes looking at him and nervously sat down. With a sigh, Riku answered.

"I chose Besaid because like you I wanted to join the sports."

"But Zanarkand has way better teams by far. And they also have a better rate of their players reaching the pros. Reconsider Riku," he said pleadingly. This was going to be a big mistake for him. Yeah, he was a royal asshole and Sora _would _be overjoyed if he had pissed off his future and potential. However, when he went to the games, Riku was brilliant on the fields. In every sport he played, he excelled and worked to bring the team together rather than leading it. He was a valuable asset that he knew Zanarkand was disappointed in losing.

"Just drop it Sora. You have no clue about me so just let it go," said Riku coldly as he stirred around his tropical drink. For the rest of the meal they simply ate in silence.

* * *

It was getting dark when they had finally strolled up to Sora's house. It was cozy with a wonderful garden of roses in every shade and color. He pulled out his key and put it into the gate, unlocking it with a click. Walking in, the scent was wonderful to the senses, like a natural perfume, exotic and sensual. He led Riku to the door and, after using another key, they had successfully walked inside.

The house was dark and warm, leaving Sora to flick the lights on. "Mom!" he called as he tossed his bag on the dining room table and placing the keys on the appropriate hook. There was no answer. "Mom?" he asked as he walked around to the kitchen. On the fridge was a note and they both looked over it.

_Sora honey,_

_I've left you some mint ice cream in the freezer so you can celebrate with a few friends if you want. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see you home._

_Your mother_

The brunette then slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh yeah! She was supposed to go to work at the hospital tonight!" he said as he crumpled up the note and tossed it into the trash. Walking over to the side of the fridge, he picked up the cordless and handled it to Riku.

"Go ahead and call home, unless you wanna stay for a little while longer," said Sora as he opened the fridge and pulled out the mentioned ice cream and whipped cream. Riku looked at the phone and dialed his number.

"Hello Mom? Yeah, its me," he began, shrugging the phone to his shoulder and placing a hand on his hip. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just going to be at a friend's house. Not Ansem… yeah." Walking over to the counter, he leaned an arm on it. "Call you when I'm ready okay? Bye."

He handed Sora the phone and he quickly hung it up. "So you're gonna stay?" he asked while trying to carry the tub of mint, the scooper, two cans of whipped cream, the jar of cherries and two bowls into the family room. Realizing that this wasn't gonna work, Riku offered to take the bowls, cherries, and spoons.

"Yeah, unless you have anything else better to do. I don't want to intrude."

"Well you ready have so why care now right?" said Sora with a chuckle as he placed the items on the coffee table.

They decided to watch the Sci-fi Channel, hours upon hours of bad zombie and vampire movies. Riku kept making joke after joke at each scene, making Sora crack up.

'I guess he can really be a cool guy when he stops trying to be an ass,' Sora thought between painful laughs as Riku mocked the girl who was being pulled into the feeding frenzy of zombies.

"Really Sora, who the hell in their right mind would walk their ass back to the cabin when they saw someone get killed in it. I'm glad she's getting her ass killed," he said, rolling his aquamarine eyes before he put the Reddi Whip can to his mouth and sprayed it full of the 'whipped goodness' as he had so named it.

Sora hunched over, holding his stomach as tears started to stream down his face. He felt right then and there that he was truly going to die from laughter if Riku didn't stop there. It was too much.

"Wow, are you okay Sora? It wasn't that funny," said the jock as he helped the teen back to a sitting position on the couch. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he laid back on the couch, giggling like a boy tickled too much.

"You're a riot Riku. I don't know how your friends can handle it," he said, his laughing fit slowly dying down to a satisfied grin. Riku blushed lightly and stared at the can of whipped cream on the table. 'Riku's blushing? Weird.'

"Well, no one really thinks I'm all that funny. I do get a few laughs here and there but mostly they listen to Ansem," he said in a saddened tone. As if realizing his acting out of character, he picked up the can and sprayed his hand with a fist-sized amount. Then, with a mischievous grin, he grabbed Sora and forced him down on the sofa, smothering the cream all over his shocked face.

"Mbffmmmbfffhn… Riku!" he yelled as he struggled under the stronger teen's arms. Coughing up the substance, his bright blue eyes glared from behind peaked masses of white.

"Was that funny too Sora?" laughed the prankster as he held the other boy's arms behind his spiky brown hair, grinning evilly.

"Just as I was starting to think you were a good guy too," he said with a frown. Riku just grinned and leaned over, licking off some of the treat from his cheek in one stroke. Sora blushed red and froze.

"Mmm… can't let it all go to waste right?" he said before swiping off a bit more with his fingers. "Tasty."

Sora sat up and stared at him in confusion. What did he just do right now? Was it what he _thought_ he just did? Riku, the asshole jock, had just licked him? Was that normal?

The teen in question noticed his staring and raised an eyebrow. "You should probably get a napkin of some kind. Unless you want to go to college all broken out," he said matter-of-factly. With a blush, Sora then quickly got up and charged into the bathroom.

What the heck had just happened? Riku, the biggest ass _and_ meathead in the world, had just licked Reddi Whip off of his face! Was that _normal_? After more than twelve years of terror, he does something like _that_?

Taking down a soft blue washcloth, he sits it on the side of the sink and turns on the warm water. Looking into the cabinets, he finds his face wash and sits it on the counter. Letting the water turn to the right temperature, he gathers the soothing water in his hands and splashes his face.

'Just ignore it Sora, he was just trying to be friendly. Or he was trying to get under his skin. Or into his pants.'

Sora then blushed at this thought and furiously rubbed the face soap into his hands and then slapped it onto his wet face. Why would he be thinking of something like that? Of course Riku wasn't hitting on him, Riku was straight like him. He loved women and seduced half the school and ravished half of _that_ number. He laughed to himself as he washed off the rest of the soap suds.

Grabbing the washcloth on the counter, he wiped off his face, laughing even more about how ridiculous he was acting. However, when he saw the subject of his debate watching him from behind him, he jumped, crashing back into the jock.

"What the hell were you doing?" he yelled, struggling out of Riku's rather strong arms. Between laughter, the silver haired teen helped him up, making Sora blush at the feel of his well toned muscles through his rather thin jersey. He couldn't really tell from his appearance that he was so fit and…

'Wait a minute! What am I thinking? Am I _that_ lonely?' he thought as he stood up and backed away a little to a more _safe_ distance.

"I just came in to check on you and I just happened think about the look on your face when you caught me behind you," he said. Sora pouted and picked up the washcloth, tossing it into the towel bin.

"Very funny…" he said as he scratched at his head, walking into his room. Casually taking off his shirt, he tossed it to the side and shuffled through the drawers.

"What are you doing?" asked Riku as he stood at the doorway.

"Getting dressed for bed, you're staying the night right?" he replied as he pulled out a white sleeveless undershirt and blue drawstring sweatpants. "What do you want to wear to bed?" he asked as he went back to the set of drawers.

Then he felt muscular arms wrap around him, causing him to jump. Riku simply stood in front of him, his eyes looking over his body.

"What's wrong Riku?" he whimpered as he eyed each possible direction he could run if he was to be pounced upon. He could kind of guess what was wrong as the other teen started to near him again.

Sora backed himself into the wall. 'Crap! How the hell did I get into this? This is the _last_ time I accept dinner from someone who until recently was hell bent to pissing me off,' he thought as he cowered under the silver haired teen.

"Nothing's wrong, I just want _you_," said Riku matter-of-factly as he put one intimidating hand against the wall on the side of Sora's face. The brunette blushed hotly as he inwardly panicked.

"Uh… let's just reconsider Riku," he pleaded with an uneasy laugh. However, the other boy's face grew nearer and nearer to his. 'This isn't good, this isn't good,' he chanted in his head as he froze.

The first kiss was… awkward at best. Sora thought of each and every way to try to get out of the position. However, he only succeeded in pressing his hands against his chest, pushing Riku off of him. The brunette glowed red as he shifted his way away from the wall and towards the cabinet.

"Sorry," said Riku as he hurried out to the kitchen, leaving Sora to his thoughts.

What had just happened? Did he just…? And even worse, did he just… _like_ it? No, it had to all be just a reaction. Yeah, that was it.

He started to walk after him, worried about where the other boy went. He saw him putting his backpack over his shoulder, walking over to the front door. Sora then stood in front of him, grabbing his wrist.

"Let me go Sora," he said, his eyes painfully on the ground, covered by his long silver bangs. Sora frowned and chased after him as he walked up to the front door. The jock had opened the door halfway before Sora pushed his body against it, effectively closing it with a thud.

"Get out of my way." Sora simply shook his head as he maintained his position at the door.

"No Riku. What's wrong? What happened back there?"

"I already said I'm sorry. I was just playing with you. It was a cruel joke," he said, an obvious cover. Sora frowned.

"That's not true Riku. What's really-"

"I like you okay!"

Wow, okay, that was different. So he likes me. So Riku Oohira, the biggest self-professed man ho of the school, the star jock, and one of the biggest bullies liked him. He guessed it wasn't too crazy.

Sora laughed inwardly at his train of thoughts as he gave an outward look of concern.

"Why are you so ashamed about it?"

"Well we've both got dicks Sora, if you haven't noticed. It's not right for two guys to think that way," he said, looking away from him.

"So? Kiss me."

"What!" yelled Riku as he took a step back, a blush ripening on his perfect face. The other boy tried his best to give a come hither look. He was pretty sure he wasn't gay but he felt that it wasn't something that he was up to trying out.

"Let's just see if we like it or not. Nothing dangerous right?" he said as he locked up the door. This was going to be interesting. Was he really up to it, with _Riku_?

* * *

A/N: Yes, I am evil. I made a cliffhanger. What will happen next right? Hehe. Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I plan on making this a four phase story or somewhere close to that number. So keep reviewing and if you like it enough, I just might make it longer! Well, see you soon! 


	2. Phase 01: Love Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do. Hate to break it to ya.

A/N: Hey, I hope you liked the first chapter. It was a bit vague I know but it was meant to set up for phase one. It's going to get cute and a bit confusing but not yet. It'll come though so don't worry. So hang in with me okay? Here are some answers to the reviews so far:

**Sliver Dragon of Evening:** You were my first review for this story! Woohoo! Thanks! And I'm glad you love the storyline. I hope you will continue doing so.

**Darkened Days:** I know I'm evil. I love doing so. You'll tend to see me do such things as kill people off, ruin relationships intentionally, and other things. So watch out all!

**Ookami-jin: **I'm glad that this is your first Kingdom Hearts fic. I like new readers and people with fresh impressions of the game. And I have to say that I hugged the screen when I saw the whole dream sequence. I loved it. An I hope you like me now that I updated.

**Is In Sirius Denial:** I'm so glad that you are going to read my other stories. Sorry but a lot of them are really old Escaflowne ones that I never finished. I intend to though. But the other Kingdom Hearts ones are good. Please review those too, I'm begging you. cries

**Muffy:** I'm glad you loved the cliffhanger, I hoped that it wouldn't be too painful.

**BlacKat:** Yes, it does suck having to be tormented by Riku for more than twelve years. Poor thing can't remember a time in his life that he wasn't constantly teased by him. Its cute.

**Staryday:** I'm glad you think its interesting!

**DancingMistress:** Glad you think this is awesome. And I updated just now right? Heh.

**Sunshine Pie: **I like your suggestion. I will be adding Leon/Cloud but it will be more of a different representation of their relationship than normal. So watch out. And they will have a little side story if you want.

**Halo Sora:** Ahhhhh! I've been threatened. Heh. I like being threatened, as long as it doesn't involve serious stalking and/ or violence to me, others, or to Riku and Sora. It makes me write more and I know that you like my writing. Heh. feels loved by all

Well, here goes a difficult but necessary phase of the story. I hope you like it with all angst attached. The next chapter will be a lot happier, promise. Enjoy!

* * *

Phase 01: Love Me

* * *

Sora looked up to the ceiling, relaxing the soreness of his muscles. A strong yet gentle pale hand brushed back his messy brown bangs from his sticky forehead. He smiled and snuggled farther into the warmth of his lover lying under him, feeling the other teen's heartbeat on his back. Surprisingly enough, he was happy with the outcome. It had been a little over a month since the 'experiment' and that was a night that he would never forget.

They didn't sleep with each other that night; Sora wasn't quite ready for that yet. However, they were equally content to simply make out on the sofa, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies. Luckily, his mother hadn't come home until late that morning, giving them plenty of time to feign an innocent sleepover. The brunette could only imagine the look on his mother's face if she'd walk in to see her son in the loving arms of another man on the family couch.

Since that day, they promised to keep their feelings for each other a secret, to pretend as if they were only getting acquainted with each other to make the transition to Besaid easier. They went on a few dates here and there, places like high class private restaurants and secluded spots on the beach to simply sit and talk at.

The relationship was great now but it wasn't always as good. Though Riku had told him repetitively that he loved him with all his heart, Sora himself had troubles with his own feelings. Even now, he wasn't quite sure if he truly _loved_ Riku or if he only cared about him. Even worse, he was afraid that he could only be feeling pity for him and allowing him to take what he wanted.

At this thought Sora sighed and rubbed his hand over his lover's arm which was contently wrapped around his waist. That night had been their first time together; a special night that he had hoped would clear things up. Riku had been sweet enough to rent out a luxury hotel suite overlooking the water just for the occasion. He could remember walking into the bedroom to see rose petals at his feet, leading a trail to the large canopy bed, candles lit all around.

"I love you Sora," said the man beneath him, scratching the confused boy's head affectionately. It only made him blush, feeling a sense of awkwardness about the sudden outpouring of love.

"You know I'm still not sure about it all Riku," he said in a gentle yet scolding tone. Right after he said that, he regretted saying it. He knew it hurt the jock to be reminded of his unrequited love. It felt as if it hurt Sora even more, not being able to completely love him as the other did.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the brunette as he moved his way off of Riku's chest and onto the cold bedding next to him. Rolling over to his side, he moved a nearby icy pillow to fit comfortably under his head. The whole move however was painful, making the soreness of his backside flare up again. It was going to take some getting used to.

"Don't worry about it Sora. I know you don't love me," said the other teen frigidly as he got up and searched the floor of the bedroom for his clothing. Shifting to his back, Sora's bright blue eyes watched him confusedly, clutching the orange red sheets.

"Where are you going?" he asked almost pleadingly. They had just made love and he was going to leave because of a small accidental comment he said?

"I'm just getting some air," he muttered as he closed the door with a slam. Growling in frustration, the younger boy threw his arms up and let them collapse onto the bed, causing a rippling of sheets.

What the hell happened? At one moment he was in a state of euphoria after being slowly fucked out of his mind by his lifelong tormentor, which was a lot coming from him who was still bothered a bit by the fact that they were both men and that he might possibly be becoming gay. Now, he was frustrated, pissed off, and ready to blow off the jock's head, but not in the way that he had earlier.

Sora then laid back, remembering their previous activities. It had really surprised him how wonderful it was to be fucked by him. He had to admit that in the beginning, he had wanted out at the feeling of a twelve foot pole being shoved up his ass all the way. But Riku, being the loving gentleman that he was, allowed his lover to get used to his length as far as he could go in before he began to make love to him.

Then it was ecstasy, pure bliss. Each time he moved inside of him, it felt as if he had died and went to heaven. Sure it was a cheesy thought but it was true. Riku did have talent, he had to give him that. But it did shock him that he was his first man. It made sense but he was so… _wonderful_ at it that it was kind of hard to believe. Sora then smacked himself in the forehead and came to the conclusion that he had probably had a few women in that same way; after all, some women loved the unnecessary position and the dominance it brought. 'Freaks.'

He couldn't understand it. How could someone _choose_ to be taken 'up the ass' when they could just as easily go through the appropriate entrance that God had given them? Did they _enjoy_ pain that much? They had to, after all, there were people who had millions of children and choosing _not_ to have the pills for the birthing. They said it was fulfilling. 'Fulfilling my ass!' he thought as he rubbed his sore spot.

Looking to the alarm clock on the bed stand, Sora frowned at the time. 'It has been fifteen minutes already? Where is he?' he thought as he laid on his stomach. 'Riku must have been upset because he should have been back by now.'

Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and scratched his head, trying to ignore the constant stinging pain. He needed to go out to look for him. Maybe they could go and get something to eat while they were out. Looking around the room, he located his black t-shirt and baggy faded jeans. His boxers were nowhere to be found.

"Come on! Where the hell could they possibly be?" he said angrily as he looked under chairs and behind the bedside table. While looking there, he saw them, a small piece of black peaked out from behind the shadows. Having to crawl halfway under the bed, he grabbed them and smacked them against his leg, getting the dust off of them.

After he clothed himself, he looked into the mirror. Up along his neck was an embarrassing trail of hickeys, making him blush. "Damn you Riku! I have _no_ shirts to cover this up!" he said as he rubbed them a little, soon understanding that they were in fact bruises. Ignoring them, he picked up the hotel key and, after feeling his wallet in his pocket, walked out of the room.

* * *

Wandering the hotel was pretty tiring. Everyone was either sleeping in their rooms peacefully or they were out at the local clubs or relaxing in the Jacuzzis. But still there was no sight of Riku.

'Maybe he's at the beach,' he thought as he made his way into the elevator. Pushing for the ground level, he stood there arms folded, waiting to step out. The lobby was practically deserted with only a rather bored employee reclining in a chair at the main desk, playing a handheld game of some sort. Sora walked up to him.

"Excuse me but have you seen a tall silver-haired guy about my age walk out of here?" he asked. He growled in frustration as he was answered with more intense gameplay.

"_Excuse_ me but-"

"He left out of here with his girlfriend about fifteen minutes ago," he said, his eyes never leaving the game. He blinked in confusion. Girlfriend? Riku had a girlfriend here?

"Wait!" he said, making the employee pause the game and look up, obviously annoyed about the interruption. Sighing, he continued. "What did she look like?"

The other teen shrugged. "Well, she had long wavy brown hair and blue eyes. She also was wearing a tank and shorts. Yeah, really hot chick if you know what I mean. Total wet dream on legs," he said, making Sora worry more.

"Well where were they going? What were they talking about?" he asked impatiently. The other guy rolled his eyes and started his game up again.

"Like hell _I_ should know! I just sit here for minimum wage okay? Fuck off."

"Come on! It's important!" he pleaded, trying his best not to jump over the counter and beating the shit out of him. Insolent prick.

"Well, she was clinging rather close to him, saying something about a club that she was going to go to. It was called Club Blue or some shit like that. Now if you'll excuse me."

As the brunette was about to carry out an assault on the asshole of a receptionist the front door slid open revealing Riku, walking in casually and more notably alone. He seemed to be calm about something and strolled past him and over to the elevator. What the hell was he doing so late at night?

"Hey! Riku!" yelled Sora as he chased after him, making the taller boy snap out of his rather pleased mood.

"Sora?" he asked as if he had seen a ghost. "Aren't you supposed to be upstairs in bed? What are you doing down here?" he continued nervously.

"I was looking for you? Where the hell were you Riku?"

"I was out on a walk like I had said before," he said, lying through his teeth.

"No one walks for a whole half an hour without doing anything else on the side." Riku stopped at the elevator, glaring at him in such a lethal way that it felt as if death washed over him.

"What the hell are you getting at Sora?" he yelled, not noticing that the elevator doors had opened behind him. In an escape attempt, Sora jumped into the elevator and cowered into the corner.

Riku simply walked in and forcefully tapped the button for the fifth floor, glaring at the ground. The brunette blushed at the sudden smell of Riku's scent. It was powerful and smelled of sweat, heat, and other things that he couldn't quite place. Was it from the girl? Did he…?

They walked into the room in silence, pausing for a few seconds for Riku to open the door. The silver-haired teen tossed the key to the table and walked off into the bedroom, Sora following in toe.

"Riku…" he started, leaning against the door frame.

"What."

"You smell like sex," he said, feeling a sudden pang of jealousy. The other teen turned to him quizzically and chuckled cruelly to himself.

"Oh yeah Sora. I mean I _did_ just fuck you after all, unless I was so horrible that you didn't notice." It hurt. He was feeling jealous and Riku was just hurting him even more. Didn't he have the right to be worried when his lover left right after he gave himself to him?

"Well sorry. I actually think that _I_ might be the one that wasn't up to par, unless you _usually_ run after sex." It was a low blow, lower than he ever could imagine himself hitting. He soon realized that when he saw the pained look Riku had, making him regret everything he had said.

"Is that what you really think Sora? That I _ran_ from you?" he asked in an almost pleading voice. Sora looked away from his hurt aqua eyes. No matter how much he had regretted saying that, he truly meant it. It was what he really felt.

Taking the silence as his answer, Riku stood up and made his way out of the bedroom and to what he guessed to be the bathroom, leaving Sora with the sound of the slamming of the door and the wiggling of the lock turning into place.

Sora himself walked over to the bed, the one that they had shared so much passion in and pulled up the sheets, nestling himself under them. Pulling himself into a ball, he held himself and went to sleep, wishing the day hadn't ended this way.

"This was all a big mistake," he choked out as he tried to hold the tears back.

* * *

The next morning was hurtful. He woke up hearing Riku shuffling through the drawers, trying to find some suitable clothes to put on. He had just taken a shower and the brunette could smell the hotel soap on his lover's warm skin, making him wish he could wrap his arms around him and breathe in as much as he wanted until he was satisfied.

"Riku?" he asked, rolling over to his back in his messy clothes from the night before. His eyesight was blurry but he could still make out the clearing image of Riku with a fluffy white towel around his waist.

"I'm going out. I won't be back until late," he said as he hurriedly picked up his clothing and walked out of the room.

His second attempt failed as well. He had finally got up and found Riku at the small kitchenette, eating cereal quietly. Wrapping his arms around him, he placed a few kisses on his neck. "Good Morning Riku," he purred, moving to nibble on his ear. This gesture was received by his lover coldly shrugging him off of his shoulders and then walking out the door.

Riku now had been gone throughout the whole day and it was nighttime. The separation from him was almost unbearable. Riku was hurt and he couldn't get through the incredibly thick shell he had to help him. All he had done was watch the boring movies that they had on the hotel stations and paced around, thinking of the elaborate speeches he was going to give his lover when he got back.

After the last movie aired, Sora looked at his watch. It was nine and he began to worry even more. Where was he? He had been gone for well over nine hours and he didn't even think to call to say he was okay? Taking a quick shower and putting on a softball tee with blue arms and a pair of black faded jeans, Sora then walked out of the room to look for him.

Just as he had began to walk down the hall, he spied Riku coming from the elevator with a woman that he had assumed to be the girl he had been with the night before. Not wanting to be seen, Sora ducked into the next open hotel room and hid behind the doorway, listening intently to their conversation.

"You won't just forget tonight will you? I don't want to be stuck there waiting again," said the woman, clinging onto Riku's firm muscular arm. Sora clenched his teeth at the sight of it. Who did she think she was, grabbing onto him like that?

"I'm sorry about that, I just got held up. I'll be there tonight though, don't worry." What was he now talking about? He was supposed to be somewhere last night? What held him up? The brunette then gave a quiet gasp as he remembered. He had gotten into a fight with him and Riku locked himself into the bathroom. But where was he going now?

"It's okay. I wasn't prepared anyway yesterday. But I never knew you were so good Riku. I kind of want you again," she purred before she pressed her shapely body against his, causing his eyes to cloud in lust. He then pressed her against their hotel door and proceeded kiss up and down her neck, making her giggle and blush shyly.

"No Riku! Not here! Let's go inside." Sora felt himself sicken at the display. What was he doing? With _her_, the slut on wheels? Why would he want her anyway? Wasn't he already happy enough with him?

Sora collapsed down to the carpet. He _was_ happy with him right? He did love him… didn't he? He looked back to see his lover's body still pressed firmly against hers, tongue happily dancing with hers in such a heated kiss that it made the woman moan helplessly in his arms. Riku slipped his hand under her thigh and ground his hips against her causing her to cry out his name.

The thing that hurt the most was when the silver-haired devil gave his 'I'm gonna get into your pants one way or the other' smirk and moved his arousal one more time against her before he let her go, gently holding her up before she collapsed on her jelly knees.

"I'll see you there," he said seductively to her before she blushed and walked back to the elevator.

It was about another fifteen minutes before Sora had finally wandered back to the suite, closing the door gently as he dazedly shuffled his way across the small living room. Riku sat out on the couch, content to watching a racing movie. He looked up to him from his seat and then looked back to the screen.

"Dinner's in the fridge if you want it," he said shallowly. Sora stopped in his tracks, shaking violently.

"I'm not hungry," he said, fighting back tears. How could he be so aloof with him when he supposedly loved him so much? Did he love him so much that he could cheat on him like that, with _that_ easy whore?

"Sora?" asked Riku in a concerned tone. The brunette turned his back to him, hugging himself as he tried to pull himself together. He just needed to lie down. Yeah, that was it! If he laid down, then it would all go away. When he'd wake up it all would be a dream and they would be back to square one.

Hurriedly he rushed into the bedroom and threw himself upon the bed, clutching a pillow and cuddling it against him as he cried. Who was he kidding, it hurt. It hurt really bad to see Riku using his magic on someone other than him. He heard hesitant footsteps walking towards him and a shift on the mattress.

"Sora, what's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his back soothingly, making Sora feel worse.

"Don't touch me," he muttered as he continued to cry. He didn't know entirely why he was crying so hard but he knew that he the overwhelming need to pour all of the hurt out of himself, one way or another.

Riku sat there and turned the brunette over, pulling his weeping form into his arms. "What's wrong Sora? Who hurt you?"

"Don't you love me Riku?" he pleaded, acting so out of character that it made the other teen worry. He held him closer and cradled his head into the crook of his milky white neck. Sora could smell the arousing but comforting smell of his cologne and the scent of the shampoo in his hair.

Right then, for that small moment, he felt a feeling of longing for him. But it wasn't a feeling of lust, a strong need, or even a bit of affection that just sprung out of nowhere. It came from a feeling deep inside of him, a feeling that was triggered when he saw Riku pleasing someone other than himself, seeing him render someone else to mush in his arms. It was the same emotion that made him feel as if his heart was gushing out his life to the floor.

"I do love you Sora. Why?" he asked, placing a kiss on his weak lover's shoulder.

"Then why did you go out to fuck someone?" It felt as if the temperature of the room went down to freezing as he felt Riku's body stiffen. The consoler let go of his embrace with him and looked to the floor in shame.

"How did you know?" he asked. Sora wiped off the last of his tears with the palm of his hand.

"I saw you two just as you came out of the elevator."

Riku sat still for a long time, so long that Sora began to think that his was frozen that way. He was caught, caught by the one person that he didn't want to know about it.

It was all too confusing for Sora. His head was so muffled up with things that he didn't even know if he was thinking straight or not. All he knew was that he needed to get out of there. It was only supposed to be an experiment after all right? They didn't have to be together, he could leave at any time couldn't he? With a sigh, the brunette stood up and placed a shaky hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry this couldn't work out between us."

* * *

A/N: I really struggled on this chapter. It's just so hard to make things so complicated to only happen in a realistic span of two days. This chapter was meant to show how unstable and rocky the relationship truly is. It isn't supposed to be a walk in the park. So don't you all flame me saying that 'Oh Riku isn't like that and he wouldn't cheat on Sora.' Even the best people in life have relationship flaws and they always come out one way or another. That's just his flaw. Well, other than that, I hope you liked it and continue reviewing, it makes me want to type all the more faster. 


	3. Phase 02: See Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: Now this chapter shall be a bit more, fulfilling. Because of that, I have to cram it all into one whole chapter. It is pretty long but hang in there. Sorry for the wait. I decided to make this story a bit longer since you people seem to enjoy it so much. Heh. Also, there will be many different pairings with the secondary characters so don't expect them to really stay with them too long. But the Riku x Sora thing is still going to be the main pairing. Well, there will be an intro on Cloud and Leon and their problems, more Leon's than Cloud's. This will take a few chapters though. Also I am going to be changing the appearances of some of the characters so please keep that in mind and I'll draw them out later. So enjoy!

**Now answering your reviews:**

**Sliver Dragon of Evening**: I'm glad you think last chapter was better than the first. I hope you think this one is even better!

**Sunshine Pie**: Sorry, this chapter won't be so angsty, it'll be a little more, confused? Well, it'll still be good though so don't worry.

**SugarHighHiei**: I'm sorry I made you sad. Maybe this will cheer you up.

**Halo Sora**: Yes, Sora and Riku are going to get back together but in time. It is a SoraxRiku story after all. But there will be some frustration in the middle.

**Nightingale Dragon**: I hope the plots are getting good. Hehe.

**BlacKat**: You see a triangle? Hehe… you are jumping a little ahead. Let's see.

**i-am-gamer-hear-me-raor**: It's not weird that you like my fic, at least I hope not. Hehe.

**Sutzina Zion**: Everyone says that the last chapter was sad. I thought I typed it horribly and rushed but I guess I still got the desired reaction anyway. smiles

**Ookami-jin**: Yes, Riku is a sexy bastard! That's why he's so appealing and easy to write. Yeah and the hallway scene is big freaking thing of luck. Obviously there would have been people walking by but that would have been too much dialogue to write. Hehe. Blame my laziness.

**Darkened Days**: I know, what Riku did is kind of whacked. Well, Riku is supposed to be a very troubled person in this story so he's bound to freak out a lot. I've always considered him to have many inner demons to prevent him from getting what he wants.

: I'm glad that you think the romance isn't too fluffy or angsty at the beginning. I'll try to keep it at that nice middle balance.

**DancingMistress**: I updated! cheers

**ChocoboLuver724**: I think the reason why so many people put down that Riku cheats on Sora because Riku seems like the person who would take the easy way out through someone else. But Riku does love Sora, very much so, and that's why he is plagued by the fact that Sora doesn't feel exactly the same way he does.

**LadyRhio**: Thank you for thinking I'm such a good writer. I really don't think so but it makes me feel good you think so. is too modest I guess And I'm glad that you caught onto the chapters being called phases. Its supposed be this way because each part shows a phase in Sora's life and his relationships.

**Pretty Yuna**: You think my story's interesting! smiles

**Sora Jr**: My story is gonna be one of your favorites? Well I feel good! I don't know what to do with myself. hugs self in happiness

**SakuraHeeroWing**: Your assumations are correct, I am a girl. Hehe. Well, I am glad that you love the story so much that I get your lovely threat note. Hahaha! As long as I don't wake up at night to see you out of my window with a yard of rope. That would be creepy. laughs hysterically Not meaning to be evil or anything, but I enjoy when people relate to Sora to the point that they feel sad for him and feel everything he does. It lets me know that I'm actually writing this story correctly. Well, the next phase is out so enjoy.

* * *

Phase 02: See Me

* * *

The crowd was busy and there were many different balloons, streamers, flags, and everything else in baby blue and yellow, the school colors. It was a festival on the Besaid's West Shore as Sora and Tidus wandered around.

"So this is orientation?" asked Tidus as he looked wide-eyed at everything around them. There were practically booths for everything. Some people were selling surfing lessons, ice cream, fish for the dorms, and even advertising for the opening of the refurbished public blitzball arenas. It was as if he had died and went to heaven, it was college,

"It's too busy for me. I want to go back to the hotel," said Sora as he sighed grumpily. The blond gave him an evil glare.

"Now will you stop moping around you idiot! Just because you and Riku got in a fight over the summer that doesn't mean you can't have fun now!" he said waving his hands to all around them. "We're at the beach! There's a carnival! You can win stuff! Also look at all of the hot babes here."

Sora rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Just like Tidus when he gets excited to think of nothing but the beach, women, and free stuff. This guy was a kid in an eighteen-year-old body. All he wanted to do was go back to the hotel and mope some more.

He hadn't told Tidus the whole truth. As far as he knew it, Riku started acting like an ass again and they got into an argument about it. He couldn't really tell him that they had secretly been dating and had a fight on their rendezvous because he felt jealous that Riku was practically fucking a woman on their hotel door. That story was almost unbelievable if he hadn't seen it himself and lived through it.

Looking up, he suddenly realized that he had lost Tidus. "Tidus! Where the hell are you?" he called as he looked around. He could hardly understand how his friend had managed to make it to school on time everyday in high school. The boy always did get distracted easily and would wander off a million times before he actually got where he needed to go.

Deciding the best idea was to look for him, he began to wander the crowds. What would he be looking at first, women or carnival games? Deciding on focusing on the latter, Sora then started looking at the big signs for something he could have run off after.

One booth had caught his attention. It was the goldfish winning booth. The dorms didn't allow for any pets but they did let people have no more than three fish in a small tank. He had heard from Kairi that fish were the 'in' thing at the school. The better and more colorful the fish you had, the cooler your dorm was.

Walking over to the table, he sees a table filled with brightly colored fish with long elegant fins. Each one of them dazzled and shone with so many glittering colors, he knew he needed to win one. He wanted one.

"You wanna win a fish ya?" asked a very built and tanned man in banana yellow swim trunks. His red orange hair was gelled up in a cowlick Mohawk and a light blue bandana was wrapped around his forehead. Sora assumed that he was probably a native islander of Besaid by his complexion and features.

Shrugging, the brunette asked, "How much?"

"Oh, depends if you win ya? I might let ya get it for free if you make it on the first try. Then I'll charge three dollars for three more tosses."

Sora nodded and received a blue dart from the islander, feeling it in his hand. He could do this, oh yeah. All he had to do was to toss the dart into the small picture of a fish shape with a call number in it.

Eying the one that said B6, he tossed the dart, watching it fly towards its target. Then it did the unimaginable.

"Awww! Sorry man, ya missed yeah?" said the islander as he scratched the back of his head. What the hell was that? He should have made it. It was almost there. Sighing, he searched in his pockets for his money.

"Three dollars right?" he asked as he pulled out the extra wad of change out from his pocket. They had just went and bought a burrito this morning for breakfast and he had change enough for a few rounds.

"Yeah."

As he held out his fee to the redhead, a black gloved hand cam over his, making the brunette blink in confusion. The intruder towered over him, long dark brown hair coming down choppily to his shoulders. His gray-blue eyes seemed emotionless as he held out his hand towards the islander.

"Sheesh Leon. You finally decided to show up to help," said the tanned teen as he passed him over three darts. The man who Sora presumed to be Leon took them and while holding the tail of all three of them, tossed them at the board.

"Whoa!" yelled the redhead as he ducked; narrowly missing what he knew was a hospital visit. Sora just watched wide-eyed as each of the blue projectiles found a target, one landing exactly where he wanted it to be. Three choices in total.

"Wakka, let him pick what he wants and hurry up about it," said the man in a gruff tone, earning a chain of remarks from the obviously annoyed islander.

"It wasn't my fault that I had to duck from you're sloppy pride show ya? These are expensive ya know? It is hard to raise these things to have color."

Sora blinked at the whole exchange. Why did this 'giant' of a man decide to help him? It's not like he was having a fit or anything. Sure, he had wanted to win so that he could have some kind of good experience from this but it wasn't really gonna kill him if he didn't win. Three bucks was a pretty good deal.

He sighed as he looked over the three choices that were given to him. They all were pretty, all bright colors and shined magnificently as if precious gems were placed on each scale. But one stood out to him. It was a pure white with a few blue and black spots on it. The fins were so large and flowing that it seemed as if it were some kind of floating divination, a swimming maiden with all of her robe hovering about her.

"I want that one," he said as he tapped the small cup. It was cute and he felt as if it was something that he could use to take his mind off of his current situation.

"There you are Sora!" called the cheery blond that he was looking for prior to this.

"It's about time. Where the hell were you?" asked the brunette as he glared, picking up his new prize gently. Tidus simply grinned mischievously and held up a small piece of lined paper with a kiss print placed upon it.

"Got my first number here," he said with no shame. What the hell was his problem? Were women the only thing that he could think of all the time?

Sora sighed in frustration and walked away, there went his whole day. Its not like anything could piss him off more. His best friend had deserted him to get the number of some ass that he had decided to chase. The only good thing was that he had won something free so he just let it all go.

* * *

The hotel room was hot and Sora felt as if he was going to die. Even though it was nighttime, it was still hot as hell, making him feel restless. Tidus had already fallen asleep and there were no good movies on TV anymore so he decided to walk out to the beach.

It was just as hot there as anywhere else. The bright light of the bonfire was off in the distance as he walked his way across the long sand pathway to the shore. However, he didn't want to be at the party, he preferred to be alone right now so he proceeded to a quieter part of the beach. There were fishing nets hung out to dry all over the shore as he walked his bare feet into the water, feeling its coolness at his toes.

The beach had always calmed him. No matter what would be happening in life, he could always walk there and put his feet into the water and all would be fine again. Today he really needed to relax.

It was his first day at Besaid. Previously, he and Riku had planned to meet together and walk the beach together until morning so they could then sleep it off at his room. They had planned it from beginning to the end but it wasn't meant to be.

He was still confused about the reason why he had broken it off with him. Was he really right to end it after something small like Riku with another woman? Even though they were together, Sora never told him that he had loved him so it all could have been a reaction off of that. But was he too hasty to leave him like that?

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Sora spun around to see what gruff voice had called out to him. On the dock above him sat two men, both plainly older than him. He had guessed that they must be third year students or something like that. One was the man that had helped win him the fish that day, glaring down at him ferociously. The other man however was a lean blond with spiky hair and eerily clear blue eyes. He was wearing an opened blue button-up cotton shirt and tan shorts, his long legs hanging off of the edge.

"I… uh… was just walking," stammered Sora as he felt their gazes on him, more from Leon's gaze than anything. The blond simply stood up and brushed off his backside, making Leon look to him with concern.

"Don't worry about it," he said and then turned to his companion. "I'm gonna go to bed. You can tell me what you were going to say later." Giving a weak smile back to Sora, the blond then walked off.

"Cloud wait!" called Leon before he groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. The man then gave him a glare that sent chills down the younger boy's back.

"This is a private beach, go somewhere else," he said, standing up in an intimidating fashion.

Feeling uneasy, Sora began to walk back in the other direction. Actually, it was more like a frenzied speed walk. What the heck was that all about? What were they talking about? And how the hell was _he_ supposed to know that it was a private beach, there were no signs saying that it was whoever his fucking name was?

As he walked, he felt someone call out to him.

"Sora! Is that you?"

Looking up, he saw the girl of his dreams. It was Kairi and when he noticed it was her, he almost fell over. Her once long hair was now a little past her shoulders and cut in a choppy manner and sun bleached with carroty oranges. But what shocked him most was what she was wearing. She wore a lavender plaid string bikini and a pair of short tan shorts. Around her neck was her favorite necklace of thalassa shells and another chain of shell cut into square pieces and thickly stacked. Her skin was slightly tanned and she looked like a bathing suit model, not like the boyish but cute girl that he knew in Destiny Islands.

"Whoa Kairi, you've… wow," was all Sora could stutter out as he walked over to her. She jumped up and gave him a big hug, making the brunette blush at the feel of her bulging chest. He had noticed she had gotten softer as well.

"I looked all over the fair for you but I couldn't find you!" she said, cutely batting her eyelashes up at him. He smiled and rubbed her back affectionately. Kairi was too hot for her own good.

"I'm sorry, I spent most of it trying to keep Tidus down from ravishing all of the local girls he could see." They both laughed and the red head placed a quick kiss on his cheek, making him blush. After noticing his reaction, she laughed and hugged him.

"You're just as cute as when I left!" she said, cuddling him.

"Well, you're even hotter than when I last saw you. I'm surprised that I'm not running away from your new boyfriend."

"I wouldn't cheat on you Sora! After all, who could beat having such a cute face like this?" she said in a baby tone as she pinched his cheeks, making him wince at the pain.

"Ow! Kairi! You know you're a lot stronger than you look!" he whined as he rubbed his sore cheeks. She blinked and laughed, giving him a playful push.

"It's not _my _fault you're such a wuss." She then stopped and snapped her fingers, what Sora recognized as her remembering something. "Did you know that Riku Oohira is going here too?"

Sora then froze. He had almost forgotten that he was going to face the next four years with him there. Even worse, he remembered that he himself had cheated on Kairi with the human nightmare.

"Oh really?" he asked, trying to act as if the news didn't faze him. He was a terrible liar.

"Yeah, I saw him during the fair. Why? Are you scared of him?" she asked, looking up to him and batting her eyelashes mischievously. He sputtered in his response and looked at the sand below him, praying to the gods that he could find a correct response.

"No, it's just that, well, I uh… I just don't like him."

"Well you know what; you should try to be nice to him. I used to hate Selphie but since we got here we became the closest of friends," she said, clasping her hands together.

Kairi and Selphie's history wasn't good at all. Selphie was the cheerleader and was infatuated with Axel since the birth of Christ. But Axel ended up crushing on Kairi who really didn't care about him whatsoever. This made her part of Selphie's hit list. Every game she would try to jinx her and would terrorize her, calling her a dyke and other things. Then, when Axel asked Kairi to the winter formal, Selphie freaked. The thought of Kairi and Selphie being close friends was the same as thinking Tidus and Ansem could ever be friends, it was a little creepy.

"I don't think so Kairi, I already have enough issues with him as it is," he said, waving his hands in front of him. A confrontation with him would be basically catastrophic and would ruin any chance that he would have with Kairi though in a way, Sora didn't care.

* * *

"I've got that." It was now what the school called 'Welcome Week' and Sora and Tidus were unpacking their things into their new dorm. Kairi decided to come and help because since she lived with Selphie in a seaside townhouse, she never had to unpack. Currently, Tidus was relaying Sora the boxes from the van to go to the elevator. Then they planned on taking them from the elevator to the hall where Sora and Kairi would leave them and go back down to get the rest.

Sora loaded the last of the first load of boxes onto the elevator and waited as Kairi pushed the button for the third floor. Hopefully they wouldn't have anymore heavy boxes because holding the one in his arms was killing him. The door opened and Kairi then began to hurriedly push out the boxes and held the door back, hoping that they could get the rest of the boxes before the door closed. They were on the last one when the door suddenly closed with Sora stuck inside.

Sighing, the brunette decided to push the button for the bottom floor and start bringing more boxes, after all he only had one box left in there anyway. It was tiring. Hopefully they would have time afterwards to go to the beach or get ice cream or something. He needed some kind of a reward from all of the manual labor that he had to do.

The door opened at the second floor and he sighed as he picked up the box for the people to get in. It was a good handful of people but what he really noticed was one of them. He pretty much stood out with his now longer silver hair that was tied in a lengthy ponytail with a black hair tie. An open thin black button up shirt and tan shorts was his new choice in wardrobe. His appearance reminded him of Sephiroth, Riku's older cousin. The guy was pretty eerie but was actually a decent guy when he talked to him. Supposedly he was attending Zanarkand University for a master's degree of some kind.

Shrinking behind a skimpily clad blonde, he hid, trying not to be noticed. The worst of his fears was to be found out by him and yelled at or whatever else he could possibly do. The ride down was cramped and loud, hearing him talk to a rather older guy called Vincent. Supposedly he was his new roommate because they were talking about where they could put the TV and the new chair that Riku had bought. He seemed a little ethereal in his own sense. His long black hair went messily down to his back and offset his ivory skin. He obviously came from some place with little to no sunlight because he seemed a bit pasty in his complexion, wearing a white wife beater and baggy black pants. A few jelly wristbands were tied on his arms with a black wristband and a silver chain wrapped around one of his wrists.

Luckily, the elevator doors opened and people began to pile out, Riku and Vincent being the first ones. Sora began to walk over to the doors with the waiting Tidus in front of them with their last pile of boxes when the idiot did the worst thing he could at that time.

"Hey Sora! Hurry the hell up!"

The brunette cringed as he saw a silver head slowly start to turn to his direction. 'Damn you Tidus! Dumb fuck!' he screamed mentally as he froze, all color draining from his face. His eyes met with surprised sea-green ones that then turned to have a furious glare. Tidus, being the 'dumb fuck' that he was only huffed, leaning over the stacked boxes that still had to go up.

"Hurry the hell up you ass! We don't have all day to stare off into space!"

'Note to self, kill Tidus when the opportunity arises,' he thought, placing the box at his feet at the side of the elevator. Riku was still there as his

raven-haired companion leaned over the front desk, conversing with the older woman for something. Ignoring his gaze as best as he could, Sora jogged over to the irritating blond and began to pick up the luckily lighter boxes.

"What took you so long? And where is Kairi anyway?" asked Tidus as he picked up the last stack of two in his arms, one saying 'printer' and the other saying 'stuff.' Sora shrugged it off and walked back to the elevator with the box saying 'school supplies.'

"I had to catch the elevator before it took the last box away. Kairi's still stuck up at the top floor. I hope she's putting the stuff away," he said, noticing that he still hadn't lost the ever annoying glare that he had following him. 'God damn it!'

"Oh. Well I was starting to think that you two were upstairs fucking or something like that. I was about to get jealous," Tidus said, earning a glare from Sora.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well have you seen your girlfriend? She's so hot that if she wasn't yours, I'd bang her myself," said the blond, making Sora wince. He had forgotten that Riku didn't know that Kairi was attending here as well. Also he didn't really know that he was still seeing her.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Riku quickly whispered something to Vincent and then stormed out of the dormitory. It wasn't really a good sign at all. Now the silver-haired teen was really pissed off at him. As the doors to the elevator closed, he noticed Tidus giving him a knowing look.

"What!" he asked, glaring at him. Tidus only grinned and leaned against the elevator wall.

"I noticed how Riku was glaring at you the whole time."

"He did no such thing," said Sora quickly, shifting the now tiresome boxes in his arms.

"I think he's jealous of you and Kairi," he said, making his friend almost drop the load.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's quite simple. Even back in high school, Kairi was hot. But now, if you see her, she's totally banging." Sora rolled his eyes and whispered a quick 'thank God' as he walked out of the elevator, his girlfriend taking the box on the floor. All of the rest were luckily put back into the dorm by her and they only had to carry the rest back.

Sora blinked as he looked into the room. They must have been gone a long time because the beds were now all made and some of the books from the boxes were placed on the shelves. A girl Kairi's age with long sugar brown hair in two braids and a lemon colored tank and deep blue cropped jeans was putting the clothing on hangers and into the closet.

"Selphie?" asked Tidus, obviously as confused as Sora was. The girl turned to them and sure enough it was her.

"Hey guys!" she cheered, a mature smile growing across her now lush and glossy lips. She had seriously changed a lot from the last time the two first years had seen her. Her former trademarked flip hair do was traded in for a longer set of braids, her long and choppy bangs threatening to cross over her eyebrows. But through it all, she was still just as attractive as ever, actually more so when they thought about it. Her body had its last minute maturation, leaving her with seductive wide hips and a cute cinched waist, showing off her glittering belly button ring with a paopu charm dangling off of it.

Kairi put her arm across the other girl's shoulder. "This, my horny man friends, is the new Selphie Tilmitt," she said, making the said girl giggle in hello. Tidus was visibly drooling and Sora smacked him at the back of the head.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, recovering from the shock. "So you fixed all of this up right?"

Selphie grinned and put her hands on her hips. "Of course I did. You boys probably don't know the first thing about organization."

"Let's skip the chitchat, we have to go and get this room organized!" said Kairi as she clapped her hands together. They all nodded their heads and set out to finish the task.

* * *

The breeze was nice as Sora and Kairi walked down the streets of the University Village. They were finally done with the dorm and the brunette decided to spend some time with his girlfriend before the school event at the nighttime. Holding hands, they talked about many things that they needed to catch up on like his prom and her first year of classes. But the whole time, he thought about how he was going to face school life with Riku.

Sure, this wasn't high school and they were less likely to even have one class together but it was still likely that they would see each other. The school, though it was a university, was still a close knit community that basically lived in the village and ran the shops that it held. The whole school was basically its own private island where they could have peace and study, or party if they felt like it.

"Sora?" asked the redhead as she looked to him with concern. He was staring off again and it was the second time he was caught.

"I'm sorry Kai; it's just that I'm tired. Don't worry about it," he said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. She didn't buy it.

"Let's go back to _my_ place if you want. We could watch a movie or something. And you haven't seen it anyway,"

Sora nodded and let her lead him back down the street to the seaside residential areas. It was a beautiful area, reserved for only the upperclassmen and, as he had seen in the housing section of the school's webpage, it was really expensive. However it didn't surprise him that they had stayed there, after all, Selphie's family always seemed to have money to spoil their only child with and Kairi's grandmother was easy to spare some money too.

As they walked, the redhead blinked and halted, looking to the side of the street. Turning back to him, she grinned her 'I want you to do something' grins.

"Let's go to eat first," she said, making Sora raise an eyebrow.

"I thought we were supposed to be having dinner with Selphie and Tidus."

Kairi waved him off and started down the sidewalk again.

"Of course we will, I just want to go eat there. Don't worry, I'll be paying okay?" she said as they started to pass a row of seaside houses. They were small but very cozy, like a slightly enlarged version of a hut. They looked like those beach houses on those seaside teen shows but he never really thought that they really looked like that. The ones on Destiny Islands were either hut styled structures like in Kilika or suburban houses more inland.

In front of what he believed to be Kairi and Selphie's townhouse was a slightly shiny red convertible with the tan hood pulled up. It was probably Selphie's graduation present last year and the salt of the sea air had been rough on the paint. Leading him up the short stairway, she pulled out the keys from her small purse and let him in.

The place seemed very… new for the lack of a better word. The walls all were white and the sofas were a warm buttery color, arranged nicely around a modest black TV. A soft yellow glow came all around from the many lights in the ceiling and the lamps as Kairi slowly went around and turned each one on. She smiled and gestured to all that was around her.

"This is the crib, you like it?" she asked with a beaming smile of pride on her face. The brunette quickly nodded, giving the room one last look before he was dragged away to what he presumed to be Kairi's room.

It was nice, the walls painted a light bubblegum pink and accented with bright lime greens and black. There were numerous athletic trophies all over with stuffed animals, lace, satin ribbons, and feminine knickknacks that contradicted each other greatly. It suited her very well. The bed however was like a sherbet colored cloud of light pinks and white with black ribbons all over the lacy edges.

Sitting down on the bed, the redhead patted the spot next to her. Wandering over, he sat down.

Without any dialogue whatsoever, his girlfriend leaned over for a sweet kiss. Sora preferred that nothing was said before it, it would have been a little awkward to lead a conversation to this. Focusing on the feel of Kairi's lips, he sighed and relished in them, forgetting how soft and sweet they were. He remembered that the girl had always enjoyed powdered sweets to no end, leaving her kisses ever so tasty.

Gently, she situated herself closer to him, letting him wrap his arms lightly around her waist. Throughout the hole thing, Kairi couldn't help but blush. Her lips, though very pleasing in their maneuvers, didn't have the feel of experience that he was accustomed too. She didn't nibble on his lower lip as he was doing now. Also, she didn't lightly sick on them with each kiss as he was.

Encouragingly, he gained entrance into her mouth, his tongue moving expertly against her meek one, trying to get a more equal reaction. It all seemed so familiar to him as he leaned over her on the bed, cupping her face gently with his hand. Really it should have been as he hadn't really kissed her with such passion before; their kisses were always chaste and innocent with her mostly leading. Shrugging it off, he had his fill of her mouth and moved his lips teasingly from the corner of her now familiarly blushing lips to trail over her cheek and painfully slow down her neck.

She silently gasped in a fluster at the feel of his oddly practiced teeth nipping at the skin on her neck. Her hands clutched at the front of his shirt as he nuzzled her shoulder, sighing in desire. He felt as if he was getting too into it but he really didn't care, he enjoyed the feeling of her being submissive to him, clinging to him as he made out with her. But the feeling of familiarity in the back of his mind never seemed to go away.

Then it finally hit him. When he heard her coo out his name, it hit him like a ton of bricks. She was acting like _him_! She was doing the same things he was before, the blushes, the feeling of inexperience, the oddly submissive qualities, even the way she sighed and reacted. It was all exactly like him. And if that was the case, then Sora was like…

He jumped up quickly and readjusted his t-shirt, his face blanched from his sudden realization. His girlfriend blinked confusedly and sat up, giving him a worried expression.

"Are you okay Sora?" she asked. He felt too guilty to look back to her and sighed despairingly. Throughout the whole time, he was performing everything that Riku did, everything that set his skin on fire, or made him cling to him more. He did everything that made him turned on. It all made him feel too ashamed to look her in the face.

"Yeah, I just think we were getting too far. I'm sorry," he said as he sat down on the black beanbag chair at the other side of the small room. He wasn't entirely lying, he really _did_ feel bad about the whole thing, and he really _did_ think it was getting too far. But he was more worried about the fact that if things had become too serious and they _did_ end up sleeping together, he knew he would most likely call out Riku's name in a fit of passion than the girl that would be underneath him. That would have been a serious bedroom faux paus.

Kairi simply walked up to him and gave him a reassuring smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Sora, I think so too."

* * *

They were now at dinner, the four of them conversing over something stupid that he really didn't care about. The restaurant was called Seaside Maiden and it was more of a large bistro than anything. The menu was filled with mostly seafood and things that he guessed were simply catches of the day. He didn't mind however, he loved fish. Selphie was the one who really cared.

"And why don't you have chicken? It's not that hard!" said the honey-haired girl as she continued the argument with the waiter. Any other day, Sora would have been annoyed and told her off, apologizing to the poor man who had to take the _princess'_. Today, after the things that happened over the span of less than twenty-four hours, he was too lost in his own mind to think.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another waiter come over, three drinks on a tray balanced over his shoulder propped on his hand.

"What's the problem here?" he asked, his voice young but soothing, telling of an deep sense of underlying maturity. Selphie didn't even waver as she then took out her needless rage on the newcomer. Sora rolled his eyes, another victim to her rampage.

"I only want something other than fish. Is it that hard to ask?"

"Here we go again," muttered Tidus as he rested his head lazily on his fist, becoming tired of it. He was a person he preferred to eat at buffets than restaurants; he wanted his food as soon as possible.

"I'm serious blondie! Do you expect me to believe that all you sell here is fish? I've eaten at the most posh restaurants in Yevon and each of _them_ had something chicken."

She obviously wasn't going to give up and Sora was expecting to be kicked out because of her at any moment. Any waiter who would take this was a complete moron or had nerves of steel. He heard the original waiter mutter an 'I can't take this shit,' and he suspected that he left.

"Well I'm sorry miss. We only can cook from what is on the menu," he heard the second waiter say, sensing Selphie charge up for her next attack. However, to his and the whole table's shock, the man actually continued. "But there is lemon basil salmon. I don't like fish either but I can assure you that you will like it. If you don't I'll let it be on the house."

Selphie eased herself back down and had what appeared to be a thoughtful expression. She was actually thinking about it? And what planet are we on? Then he heard four words that made almost everyone in the table flip over in shock.

"Okay, I'll try it."

Sora looked up in shock, his mouth agape at what he was hearing. Selphie, the epitome of the spoiled brat princess getting everything that she wanted, never settling for less, was actually going to _try_ something? And _fish_?

He looked up at the brave waiter and blinked in recognition. It was one of the men on the dock. His bright blonde hair was arranged in a messy but fitting amount of spikes, one side of hair brushed back in an attempt for neatness. But he looked differently now. His attire of straight black slacks, a white button-up shirt, a black vest, and a matching black bowtie gave him the look of a polished man, mature and graceful for his age as he held the tray of drinks of different shapes and sizes as if they were nothing at all. He seemed like what Sora himself wanted to be as a man.

"Well, let me drop these drinks off and I'll be right with you," he said and walked off, gracefully passing down the drinks to table of adults, giving them his charming apologies.

"Wow!" said Tidus out of the silence. Everyone was shocked and Selphie sat there happily as if nothing had happened.

"What?" the princess asked, looking over the dessert section.

"I never knew you were _that_ much of a bitch."

"Watch it blondie!" she shrieked, giving him an evil glare. It was more of a pout than anything.

Even though it _was_ out of line, it was pretty true. Before high school, Selphie Tilmitt was one of the sweetest girls in the school, well liked and had a pretty nice group of friends. However when she reached high school, she tried out for cheerleading and in doing so, ended up in the wrong crowd. They had taught her to be manipulative and petty, making her into another version of them. To them, she was little Selphie and they enjoyed corrupting her to the evil little bitch that she was only recently recovering from.

Tidus glared, folding his arms. "What is up with you and calling me 'blondie' anyway?" he said crossly, making her giggle. Reaching out her hand, she ruffled up his hair, making him glare even more.

"Cause it's so cute to see you get all angry like that," she said with a wide smile. Rolling his eyes, he leaned over to Sora, nudging him in the shoulder.

"I have a slight suspicion that she's trying to flirt with me," he said, earning a raised eyebrow from the brunette.

"Here are your drinks," said the tall blond waiter. Sora looked up and quickly averted his gaze to his lemon-lime soda with a cherry placed inside. He felt his face heat up slightly. What was he doing? Where was that coming from?

"Thank you so much," he heard Kairi say sweetly as the two girls giggled. Tidus simply rolled his eyes as he leaned back into the booth, watching his non-alcoholic mixed drink being sat upon the table. After all of the drinks were placed upon the table, the waiter rested the tray on his shoulder casually.

"If there is anything else you would like feel free to ask for me. My name is Cloud and I'll be happy to assist you. The food however shall be ready in about five more minutes, they need to cool to the right temperature," he said eloquently before walking over to another table, charming an elderly couple.

"He's so cute!" squealed Selphie. Tidus shot her a scolding glare.

"Can you say that any louder?"

"Oh come on blondie, he is so hot!"

"Women, I swear," moaned the sandy blond teen, shoving a hand through his hair.

"But there's something about him though." Everyone's eyes went up to Kairi as she looked down at the table in thought.

"What do you mean?" asked Sora.

"Well, he _does_ carry a smile on his face but does he really mean it?" she said, looking over to his direction. Cloud had picked up the finished plates from another group with a glowing smile, laughing a bit at the joke they probably had said. He then settled the tray on his shoulder and looked over the rest of the tables, his smile faltering slightly.

"It's like looking at misery itself."

* * *

A/N: I know that this chapter hasn't really solved anything but I will delve more into problems and solutions in the next chapter. Right now, I wanted to simply introduce the characters that will be changing the course of all of the relationships that will bud and dwindle. I don't think you all really care anyway, as long as I give you all a nice and lengthy chapter, you all will be in heaven. I know, don't feel bad, I do that all of the time too. Well, I'll be starting the next chapter soon. Review! 


	4. Phase 03: Want Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: Dang, I think this is going to be a pretty good story. I hope so. And I love getting all of your reviews! It makes me type this up so much faster and put more heart and soul into it than before. Now you'll definitely get a hint about Cloud's relationship with Leon and Riku will be coming back into the story stronger than ever. I'm sorry that I haven't had him in for a while, not good at least. I have to make the plot thicker. If I would have left him in the whole time and Sora and him living happily the whole time, it wouldn't be good. It would be pointless. So I hope this is a bit of a treat for you since you all waited for so long. And please review. I'm looking for at least ten reviews for each chapter. I know we can do it! Enjoy!

**Now answering your reviews:**

… I hope you like my portrayal of Vincent in this chapter. Most all of the characters are either older or younger than their ages in the games so they are bound to act a bit different. But I hope I made Vincent a bit accurate of how he would be as a nineteen-year-old than a thirty-plus-year-old. And I'm glad you like how I make the personalities of the characters. I worked really hard on that.

**Sliver Dragon of Evening:** I'm glad you loved the last chapter. I'll try to keep it up. Things are gonna get intense in this one. Look at the title of the chapter. Emotions will rage.

**BlacKat: **Now you get to see Riku in all of his moody sexiness! He's always so hot when he's angry. But please don't be too tired this time to write a long review! I don't want to be ungrateful or anything but I love lengthy ones! I read them over and over again. I actually change my stories to them too (note that Cloud and Leon are now in this story).

**SuperSaraMoon:** Glad its looking awesome! Hehe!

**Let-Jade-Tears-Flow:** Hope you love this phase as well.

**Nightingale Dragon:** I'm glad that you think this story is getting better and better. I seriously thought that it was getting bad. I thought I was droning on about other people too much and not getting into Sora and Riku's problems enough. Thank you!

**TinyClownBean1: **This story is one of the best stories you have ever read? feels touched And you think my story is "perfection in its prime?" Don't _you_ know how to make a person feel good! Hehe! I've been trying to make it all possible. I don't like when things aren't realistic, they throw the rest of the story out of whack.

**Agami: **Wow was your review long! It was awesome! When I opened my e-mail to see the long paragraph that you wrote, I hugged the screen. And I like your honesty. I know that the first chapter was… mediocre at best. The second chapter was so choppy because I kept writing it at many different times and in many different moods. That _really_ threw the feeling in that chapter off. So I tried to make it up by sitting and making pretty good third chapter. I'm glad that you saw all of that. And I'm glad that you like how I didn't really overpower the story of just Sora and Riku saying "I love you" every two seconds. Though their relationship is the whole driving force in the story, I wanted to show how it affected so many people around them. A man can be an island but there's always water around it. And I'm glad on how you picked up on everyone's basic character traits. Tidus as a sex-crazed frat boy! I read that and I laughed. Well I hope this chapter does them all justice still. Thank you for the wonderful review. If you think that this chapter sucks or whatever, just tell me, I need to know. smiles

* * *

Phase 03: Want Me

* * *

"Hey Sora!" called out a tall and handsome blond. The said teen looked up from his books and his eyes lit up, waving happily towards the man. Today was a day where he planned to study the reading material on Kairi's back patio.

"What are you doing up there?" asked Cloud, putting his hands upon his hips, squinting up to him past the bright sunlight. Sora walked up to the ledge and held out the cover of the book for him to read.

"Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It's some weird shit that they assigned us," he called back, earning a smirk from him.

"Oh, I've read that book. Way too much detail I'll tell ya." Out of the corner of his eye he could see Leon brooding by the shore, picking at the sand as he stared off into the ocean. He was always weird like that, acting as if he loathed the very ground Sora walked on. It might have insulted him further if he and Cloud were on the same spot at the same time.

"What's up with Leon?" he asked, gesturing to the man in the distance. Cloud looked back and frowned, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Squall? What are you doing all the way over there?"

At hearing his true name, the broody brunette glanced up to his friend and quietly looked back down at the sand.

"I'm just thinking that's all."

Sora could tell that the blond rolled his eyes at this and ran a hand through his mess of spikes. Each time that Leon distanced himself, Cloud was becoming even more frustrated with him. But their relationship was a bit confusing to him. Apparently Cloud knew Leon since they were in high school but he never elaborated on that. Whenever he talked about his high school days, his whole face would wash into sadness and Sora would abruptly try to change the subject. What had happened at those times that caused Cloud to act this way?

Cloud simply waved a quick goodbye and walked over to his sulking friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. After saying something to him, Leon scooted over, allowing the blond to sit next to him. No matter how odd their relationship seemed however, it was very deep, a soft understanding of each other, or rather, Cloud understanding Leon and Leon needing Cloud. The blonde was the nurturer and the sense in the relationship while Leon was more of the dependant and protector. However, they kept as friends, not stepping more than they needed to.

Looking back to his book, he frowned at the current situation that he left off at. Alec D'Urberville was currently saving Tess from the near brawl she was going to have with the servant women. Sure he wanted her to believe he had pure intentions or at least halfway pure but come on! The guy basically _reeked_ 'I want to corner you and rape you' all over him. Stupid idiot!

* * *

"It's a bit early for a party Selph. Don't all of the good ones start after sunset? It's sunset now," asked Tidus as he, Selphie, and Kairi walked down the university village towards the restaurant district. Sure he was wearing his black muscle shirt and his faded pair of jeans with his family seal necklace and it _was_ pretty okay clothing for the club they going to but he still was a little unsure about going to one here. He was used to the crazy ones at Destiny Islands but Besaid was an entirely different beach scene. It was like saying Kilika and Midgard were essentially the same place.

"Don't worry one bit blondie. This is going to be so much fun!" cheered Selphie as she bounced in her light blue tank top with the words 'princess' in silver glitter and her black drawstring cropped pants. Her once modest hairstyle of twin braids was now put up in a trendier hairstyle that, in Tidus' eyes, was a little hard to explain. The top part was pulled back with part of it dramatically arching up and back down to the back where the rest of the ponytailed hair practically exploded out of the hair tie, the many sun streaks in her hair shown off nicely.

But what really made him marvel was at her shoes. They _had_ to be at least three inches at the least if not four, styled in a sandal way with practically a necklace of glittery crystal attaching the shoe to her ankle, keeping her in as she walked as if it were normal to her. She was now at his height and he raised an eyebrow at that, making him move over near Kairi to make him feel not so short.

"Just don't get too crazy on me again like last time. It was getting a little too crazy and everyone was staring at you!" scolded the red head as she placed a hand on her hip as they turned the corner. Luckily for Tidus, she was dressed more, appropriately. A deep violet halter top rested nicely on her body, showing off her midriff and her paopu belly button ring… thing. He never knew the term for it but it was more of a post than a full out ring. Then she had her jean shorts with a decent pair of slip on matching lavender and white tennis with the back missing. She still looked hot he thought, like usual.

"But it was pretty hot though," said Selphie with a smirk, walking into the standard sized building. As they went in, the music was blaring. It was a really upbeat variety of reggae and dance fusion, making Selphie squeal and pull them to the dance floor.

_Let me hold you _

_Girl caress my body _

_You got me going crazy_

_You _

_Turn me on _

_Turn me on..._

"This is my song!" she yelled to them, barely getting a word over the loud music. Many couples, men and women, women and women, and even men and men, were grinding and danging provocatively to the music. He could recognize one of his rather modest classmates fluidly grinding her hips with her boyfriend. He laughed a little at that.

'I guess people _do_ act differently in clubs,' he thought as he looked around trying to find anyone else that he knew. He felt a tug on his arm and turned around.

"Selphie just ran off. Did you see where she went?" she asked, trying to look through the crowd.

"Naw, didn't see where she went," replied honestly, making her sigh in frustration.

"She always leaves me whenever we go anywhere!" she huffed as she grabbed his hand and began to lead him around to try to find her. Though he _did_ want to find Selphie, he knew that she was probably off dancing with someone she knew and he didn't want to go look for her all day and not have fun.

"Hey Kairi, let's just dance. She'll find us soon," he suggested, making her pause in thought and look around for one last time. Shrugging, she pulled him deeper into the crowd.

"Well as long as Sora won't care, I'll dance with you," she said. He shrugged and nodded in reply. Being the type of guy that Sora was, he really wouldn't care, he trusted the both of them and Tidus was after all his best friend.

Leaning up closer to him, she gently pressed her body against his and began to move with him to the music. 'This totally rocks,' he thought as he held her thin waist up firmly, making sure that she wouldn't fall. 'I'm totally dancing with her! I mean, I know that she's Sora's girl and all.'

The music was droning on and it seemed to be getting hotter all around them as they danced in the massive orgy of motion. Besaid was _way_ different than Destiny Islands in the club department. First off, the music was normally dance and electronica, the guys always battling in the middle of the dance floor. It was pretty awesome and he actually was pretty good at it but it couldn't beat this. There were no real moves but just grinding and enjoying the feel of any person, whether it was man or woman that he wished. It was like Christmas to him.

Looking to the side, he could see Selphie doing something that was a _bit_ too far to be considered any type of dancing. She had her arms thrown around a tall brunette with his long brown wavy hair tied back with a few strands falling down his face. One of her legs was wrapped around his waist as he hiked that leg even higher and had another hand firmly placed on her ass, squeezing it as they feverishly moved against each other to the music.

Tapping Kairi on the back, he gestured over to her direction, watching her blush as she watched the two practically lap up each other's faces in a rush to get to each other's mouths. 'Wow,' he thought as he continued to watch them rather uncomfortably. 'I never knew that Selphie was that… aggressive.'

Leaning up to his ear, the redhead he had forgot he was dancing with broke him from his gaze. "That's her ex, Irvine Kinneas. He's transferred here from some other university. Real cowboy type," she said, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Do they _always_ do this?" he asked, hoping her reply would be something along the lines of 'no but it'll probably end soon.'

"Oh yeah! And whenever they do, I have to suffer hearing them when she takes him home," she groaned in annoyance as she looked away, resting her head on his shoulder. Their dancing slowed a bit to a more calming beat as they swayed side to side as the song changed to another one, one with a pretty good drum beat to it.

_Here comes the 5 to the 4 to the 3, _

_Hands in the air if you cats drunk as me, _

_Club on the set kwon cut out them trees, _

_Dude I don't care I'm a p.i.m.p._

_Now everybody in this bitch gettin tipsy, _

_Everybody in this bitch gettin tipsy,_

It was getting a little to hot and he could tell that Kairi was getting tired so he slowly pulled away from her and led her out of the crowd, leaving Selphie with Irvine and some new red-headed guy that was grinding her from behind as well. But she seemed pretty fine with being sandwiched between the two tall and very attractive men.

Walking over to the bar, he allowed Kairi to sit in the last remaining stool while he stood closely next to her, leaning over to the bartender and asking for a club soda. They, of all people, didn't need to get drunk now. Selphie was probably going to have a drink or two, if she didn't already so they knew not to rely on her to be the sober one to help them back home.

Drinking down the sodas, he sighed and looked back to the dance floor. Everyone was still dancing and he couldn't get it. It was way too hot there and he felt like he was about to collapse in the sweaty mess of bodies around him. But overall, he _was_ having fun. And besides, he saw the pouty blonde that he had flirted with a few weeks ago. She seemed to be alone and he was about to go up and pull her over to dance but he remembered Kairi was there. He couldn't leave her alone by herself.

"You can go and have fun, I'll stay here. I have someone here to wait with me anyway," she said, as if knowing what was going on in his mind.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I have my cousin Tseng here with me; I'll be fine," she said, making a gesture to the bartender. He didn't really look like her with his gigantic stature, long slicked back black hair, and a black mark on his forehead but he shrugged it off and drank the rest of the drink. Sitting the glass on the counter, he said he would be right back and walked over to the blonde's group.

"Hey, Elena right?" he asked, earning the attention of _all_ of the people in the group. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Now he knew why small fish gather together to protect from predators, the sight of a million eyes looking at him was a little intimidating. But who _was_ he anyway? He was used to going up to crowds asking for one woman.

The said girl raised an eyebrow at his inquiry. Her short blond hair was left to lay straight down her face, cut in a clean line all the way around. She had on a weird outfit for a club, or even the island at that. It consisted of a white button up shirt open at the top to reveal a black tank top underneath. A black tie was tied around her neck and she wore a pair of black slacks. Basically a loose version of a suit.

"Yeah? Do I know you?" she asked. Tidus grinned and rested a hand on the wall; he was good when women used those lines.

"I don't know but I know you should."

* * *

A tall brunette casually strolled into the restaurant, something with the word 'maiden' in it as he remembered. The woman at the front desk smiled to him, giving a quick bow. "Hello Leon, are you waiting for Cloud? His shift should be over soon, we have new help today," she said as she walked him to a corner table.

Sitting himself down, he leaned his head back and searched the room for the blonde, frowning at his absence. Normally he could spot him right away doing something or other like delivering pasta to a group of old people or cleaning off the tables with care. Sadly enough, Cloud was really the backbone of the whole restaurant if one could really call it that. In Leon's eyes, it was nothing more than a shack with a kitchen and candles. But his companion loved the place and put his soul into it, even more than the manager himself who was often out drunk and crying over his hooker of a wife that left him.

Spying Cloud bringing out an unbalanced tray of soups, salads, and appetizers, a smile crept onto his face. Throughout his entire time of knowing the man, he always had such an uncanny sense of poise and balance, having grace in each step he took and gesture he made. It was the thing that he loved most about him. Even when he was being 'clumsy' and dropping things every now and then to be silly or when he was flustered, it was always with such finesse that he couldn't help _but_ to smile.

The kid who he guessed was the newbie was struggling enough trying to make it to the tables with two pitchers of soda. He smiled at how Cloud was trying to cheer him on, telling him to bend his elbows more, making the poor guy struggle even more, eyes wide in nervousness.

"Mr. Cloud, they're gonna fall!" he squealed as he struggled to the side, trying to get the table before the worst happened.

"Here I come. Hang on there," said Cloud as he maneuvered his way over to a side table and placed his tray down, rushing over to the panicking teen. Just as he got there, the boy's arm gave out and the pitchers began their descent. Cloud caught the first one around the handle perfectly but the second slipped out of his grasp and crashed to the ground, soaking the bottom of both of their pants well.

The boy blushed in embarrassment and stood there in shock. "I'm so so _sooo_ sorry!" he repeated as he rushed back into the kitchen for something to clean it up. Cloud simply smiled gently and placed the pitcher down on the table, kneeling on the ground to gingerly pick up the larger pieces of broken glass.

Seeing his cue, Leon walked over to him and pulled out his handkerchief from his back pocket and started picking up the pieces as well. "You don't have to help Squall," said the blond softly as he continued to pick up the pieces. Leon simply kept silent and continued to gather the shards into the handkerchief.

"Ow," muttered Cloud as he clutched his hand to his chest, making the brunette look up to him in concern. Hurrying over to his side, Leon took the rest of the glass in his friend's hands into his and dumped them into the pile on the cloth with the rest of them. Tending to his friend's wound, he rubbed the blood away from the gash in the blond's pale hand, seeing a small glittering thing shining from under his wound.

Putting Cloud's hand to his lips, he gently sucked out the tiny piece of glass, making the other blush faintly. "Squall? What are you doing?" he asked rather embarrassedly. Clara was helping the other guests and apologized for the mess so he didn't have to worry about the customers really seeing his small display of affection.

Picking the small fleck of glass from his tongue and placing it on the handkerchief, he silently went back to gathering the last of the shards. "There was a piece of glass in your hand, I couldn't just leave it there, it'd embed itself into your skin and get infected," he said matter-of-factly, trying to downplay what he did.

"I keep forgetting you are studying to be a doctor," he said as rubbed his hand with a chuckle.

The teen rushed back over with a broom and a dustpan. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked in a fluster, breathing as if he had run laps. Cloud regained his patented smile and stood up, brushing the dust from his knees.

"Just help Leon get the rest of glass up while I get some rags," he said as he slowly strolled to the kitchen, eyeing the cut on his hand.

Leon continued to pick up the last of the pieces while the boy who caused the mess crouched over the spill lazily, tracing a finger over the now flat soda on the floor. This annoyed him immensely. Here he was, the stupid oaf that couldn't balance _two_ pitchers not even _filled_ with soda. He had Cloud cleaning up the mess himself and didn't even have the common sense to get a _single_ rag.

"I hate this job, I'm horrible at it," the boy sighed, now playing with stray orangey strands of his hair bored. Leon rolled his eyes, gathering the last shard into his now ruined handkerchief.

"Then why don't you _quit_? You've caused enough trouble as it is," he muttered as he stood up and carried the bundle to the trash, becoming more perturbed as the boy followed him. What did he think he was doing, having a _conversation_?

"Well I would but then I wouldn't get so much time with such an _excellent_ teacher if you know what I mean," he said, making the brunette's blood boil. The little prick was pushing it. If he didn't have half of a mind he would have hit the guy square in his smug little face. No one should be bothering Cloud like that just for _attention_ of all things! At least be useful sometimes.

He dropped the whole thing, cloth and all, into the trash. 'Just be calm Squall, just relax.' Heaving in a frustrated sigh, Leon turned around, glaring at him. "Just quit while you're ahead, you aren't Cloud's type," he said, walking off towards the blond as he was bent over, cleaning the mess alone.

The kid raised an eyebrow at this and then, upon some realization, placed his hands upon his hips, grinning like a fool. "And you are? I see, you want Cloudy all to yourself."

Leon then paused, eyes glaring at the ground. "He is Cloud to you, just like everyone else," he muttered. He was talking too much and his friend was just within earshot. Inside he began to panic.

"So you're just gonna keep him for yourself? It isn't like no one knows Squall."

The next thing he knew, he was pulling back his fist, feeling a slight throbbing at his knuckles. What happened? What did he do? What _did_ he do? Upon remembering what had happened, he felt anger fill up in him again except this time from fear. He hadn't thought for a short second and now he had punched the smug little prick across the face.

But why did he feel the sense of familiarity? Why did it seem as if he was watching a rerun of some sick show? Was it another memory? Was he remembering something else?

Pulling back, he was about to strike him again when he felt a calm hand rest over his fist, melting the anger from him. "Stop this at once," he heard flowing soothingly yet firm into his ear. The feeling of deja vu was continuing. Where did this happen before!

Shaking in shock, he could see out of the corner of his eye that the customers had all stopped their merrymaking and was now watching in shock. What did he do? He was causing trouble for Cloud. It hurt.

"Go outside Leon," he heard the blond say sternly, sending chills up his spine. He had upset him. There were rare times when Cloud would get upset but it was never really at anyone or at anything. For him to be upset at him, Cloud, the most calm and gentle person he had known, the one he desperately loved but couldn't confess his feelings for the fear of abandonment, it really hurt.

Was this what it was all about? Was he so afraid that Cloud would discard him, that he would like someone else more and thus leave him for someone better? Did the things in his past haunt him so much? All of those repressed memories, of his family and the way he got to Midgard in the first place to meet Cloud. But did he want them to come back? Would he still be happy with everything if he remembered everything that happened back then?

In his daze, he sulked out of the restaurant, hearing Cloud ask the unfortunate teen if he was okay. Why wasn't he talking to him? Why wasn't he asking _him_ if he was okay? He looked back through the door and watched as the victim took advantage of the situation and hugged onto Cloud, letting the blond slowly walk him off to the back.

Walking off to the side of the shrubbery at the restaurant, the brunette collapsed against the wall, sliding down to rest on the oak chipped ground. What was wrong with him? He was acting weird again and this time it was worse. The first time he had a relapse, he had only launched a glass across the room when Cloud had forgotten to put it away. He remembered the look of shock upon his angelic features as his haunting blue eyes looked from him to the mess on the floor and back.

"_Squall? What the hell was that?" asked his friend, making him come back to his senses. This wasn't like him. If Cloud had forgotten something, he would normally put it away quietly and remind him afterwards. It **was** Cloud's house after all and he wanted to do all that he could to make his life easier._

_But he had been upset. Why was he so furious about him leaving a single glass in the kitchen? It wasn't like Squall ever did the dishes anyway so it shouldn't have mattered._

"_I… I don't know," he replied, shaking where he stood. The sounds of screams echoed in his head as he grabbed at his hair, trying to rid himself of it. 'What is happening to me?' he thought as he fell to his knees._

_Suddenly he was watching himself as a small child, cowering under the sheets as he heard another thing break, something he presumed to be his mother's favorite vase. It was soon followed by coarse yelling and the sound of his father slapping his mother._

"_How do you feel now huh? Do you feel like doing things behind my back again?" a man yelled as he heard the quiet cries of a woman from the assault._

"_I'm sorry honey, please don't do this, they'll wake up. Why don't we go outside and talk?" he heard her ask calmly and then he heard her cry out and the sound of something being dragged. Squall hid pulled the covers over him tighter as he felt another small child cowering behind him crying silently._

"_Yeah bitch, we'll go outside alright," he heard the man reply as he heard the door creak open and then slam shut._

That was the first time when his memories began to come back. After that, they would flashback during small things like watching people argue, or listening to music, or even laying in his room. Never before since that time did he ever act rashly and violently like that. He didn't want to be like that monster.

Curling up against the wall, he allowed a few tears to silently fall down his face. He was scared. Was he becoming that nightmare that he didn't want to see? And even worse, Cloud had to see him that way. His friend had already gone through so many things in his life that he didn't want to be a burden to him. He felt broken.

* * *

The party was loud and people were head-banging to the loud music that was blaring through the speakers. Though it was an awesome party and he felt like getting piss drunk, Riku had better things to think about. Things around him were getting even more confusing. Everyone at the school seemed so free to express themselves, girls making out with other girls on the beach and plenty of other interesting things. His friend Rikku was owning up to her twelve dollar dare to feel up Tifa who was feeling a bit too embarrassed about it. But even with the sexual freedom the island offered him, he still felt too afraid to openly confess his love for Sora and not care.

Things were pretty good though. His roommate Vincent was actually a pretty cool guy when he got through his asshole exterior. He knew all of the parties on this island since his cousin had gone to this school previous to him. The raven-haired man was a second year student studying art. Actually he was pretty good, not just making gothic art of mostly white, blacks, and reds as many of the other people who remotely had his style did. He preferred to paint the beautiful and pure, things like pink and red roses, angels, lovers, and beautiful romantic gardens. The man even had a binder filled with Romantic French art from the sixteen-hundreds.

A guy was chugging down a whole bottle of alcohol while a bunch of his friends squabbled over who would get the next drink from it. Unfortunately he didn't seem to want to be sharing. Smirking, he walked over to the kitchen to get himself some beer. Sure the shit tasted like… well shit, but it hit the spot whenever he was feeling pissed or sad. Now it was a mixture of both, the former caused by the prolonged feeling of the latter.

The music around him made him feel like punching someone in the face. Of course it would anyway; "Headstrong" by Trapt was a song that pretty much got him all riled up. Vincent had some pretty good music so he still enjoyed it.

"What's up?" asked his raven haired friend as he was leaning into the fridge to search for something to eat. "Bro doesn't put shit into the fridge anymore."

Riku leaned against the side of the fridge, folding his arms with a smirk. The man he was talking about was Rikku's elder sibling who they all nicknamed 'Brother'. He was a hardcore party animal and a recovering drug addict who decided to turn to surfing to ease up the feeling of withdrawal. Vincent suspected he would be back on pot before the month ended.

Pulling out two beers and what looked like a turkey sandwich, Vincent placed them all on the counter, and searched on his belt chain for the bottle opener. 'He obviously drinks way too much,' though the silver-haired teen as he made his way over next to him, waiting for a free bottle.

"I'll split it with ya if you think that the food in here is still edible," the shorter teen teased as he licked the froth off of the rim of the bottle and shrugged his long black hair back over his shoulder, making his way over to the side of the kitchen to get a knife. Riku shrugged and leaned against the counter, eyeing the sandwich. Sure it looked like hell but he was too hungry to care. He'd rather be full for a short moment and then crap his guts out in the morning. He then laughed a little at that thought.

"What are you laughing about Riku? You take anything?" Riku just laughed and shook his head. He wished that he had but he didn't want to wake up the next morning in a pool of his own urine with some whore cuddled up to him.

"Hurry up Vince or I'll end up eating the damn thing myself," he said, making the other man snort and roll his eyes.

"God, so damn pushy. I found it myself you little prick," he mumbled as he savagely ran the knife through the helpless sandwich, stabbing the knife into the cutting board to rest. Picking up his half, Vincent then shoved half of it into his mouth and, after actually getting its foul taste, gulped down almost half the beer in repulsion.

"What _is_ this shit! It's nasty as hell." After further inspection Riku realized the problem, there was cucumber and sweet mustard in it. He was used to all of that kind of health food since he _was_ a jock and his mother always made him eat that kind of stuff until he was pretty much used to it.

"It's pretty good to me," he said with a shrug, waiting for his friend to give up on it and hand him the rest. He hadn't eaten anything since two o' clock that day and he was now missing out on dinner cause of the party. His mission failed as Vincent winced and shoved the rest of the meal down his throat as if it were some kind of sick medicine.

"Whoever the fuck makes this kind of shit should goddamn die," he muttered as he drank the last of his beer, tossing the bottle into the trash can. He then straightened up and walked over to the fridge, grabbing another beer and opening it, holding it by the neck carelessly.

'Wet glass you idiot,' Riku thought as he made his way over to the fridge to look for some other thing to eat, or at least something to make. He had a test tomorrow and he really needed some kind of nourishment or he wouldn't be able to concentrate at all, ignoring the fact that he should have been studying right now instead of partying and starving.

He found a nice block of cheese and some pickles that he didn't mind snacking upon and placed them on the counter, opening the jar of pickles with a pop. A few girls made their way into the kitchen and, after grabbing a few water bottles of vodka, hurried back out to the party. The music was nice and dull in there so Riku didn't really have to worry about getting a headache at that moment.

Digging into the pickles with a fork, he began to chew contemplatively, thinking about the thing that always got him daydreaming. Sora was really with Kairi again and they seemed to be pretty serious. It made him sick to think about it, the numerous times he would watch him cuddle with her on the sand or sweetly kissing her on the cafeteria benches. Then, those few times when the prick actually saw him there, he would act flustered as if he really _did_ give a flying fuck!

Stabbing another pickle rather violently, he glared across the room, the memories of when he would see them filling up his head. The little slut, taking Sora away as if he really _was_ hers. It was agony having to have a study class with her once every week. She just talked to him as if nothing was going on, as if she was _happy_ getting fucked by the man that he still was desperately in love with.

When he finally ran out of pickles, he eyed the glass jar angrily. How the fuck did he _live_ with himself? How could he happily go on not caring that each time he saw them together, each time he saw either one of them smile, and each time that little ass Tidus would comment on how he believed Kairi and Sora would fuck each other tore out his insides like a gutted fish? He just felt like gouging his eyes out and roasting the whore on a spit.

Grabbing the glass jar angrily, he flung it across the room hearing it shatter on the tile wall, making a substantial crack and watching the sickly green juice splatter across the floor. Vincent jumped and pulled Riku away from the counter, leaning him against the other wall, shaking him repetitively.

"Riku! What the fuck is wrong with you!" he yelled as he shoved him into the wall. His forlorn aqua eyes looked over the mess on the wall and the ground, hands shaking at the action. Sure he had broken something in a friend's house, making pretty costly damage and putting Vincent in danger of the shooting glass. He _had_ acted out in anger and destroyed something in a rage but it felt good. It felt pretty damn good.

He smirked and started to laugh. Vincent stepped back a little, eyeing Riku nervously. "Riku, are you alright? You aren't acting all there?" Reaching for his beer, Riku guzzled the rest of it down and tossed the bottle haphazardly in the direction of the trash, making it shatter against the sink in a sickening smash.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fucking _fine_! I feel goddamned _EXCELLENT_!" he yelled as he made his way out of the kitchen and out of the house into the warm night. He really needed to beat someone up and he knew exactly who he would see. After all, he was fucking _fine_.

* * *

"Squall?" asked the gentle voice of the one he loved. Sniffling back his tears, the brunette looked away, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands. It was embarrassing for him to be seen like this, crying like some kind of lost child. The blond made his way over to where he sat, now wearing his casual clothes of black jeans and an indigo sleeveless turtleneck.

"I'm sorry Cloud, I don't know what happened to me." Shifting closer to him, Cloud wrapped an arm comfortingly around his shoulder, rubbing a hand up and down his arm soothingly.

"Did you have a memory again?" he asked, earning a nod in reply. Sighing, he gently guided Leon's head onto his shoulder, making the brunette tense up at the position. "Just relax okay, you need it after all."

Loosening up, he enjoyed the feeling of being close to him. He could faintly smell the familiar scent of his friend, something like pine mixed with smoke and a hint of some kind of faint flower. It wasn't a soft smell, or a feminine one at all. Like everything of Cloud, it was masculine but in such a way that wasn't overpowering, just the right amount. Cloud was elegant, giving him a sense of good breeding and upraising. Everything about him was just so perfect that at times Leon felt vastly inferior to him.

"I couldn't remember," said the brunette, making the other man's eyes shift over to him. Those beautifully haunting eyes.

"What do you mean? You acted as if you weren't yourself and I thought you were going to assault the new guy," his friend said, concern laced in his eyes.

"I know. I thought it all was familiar but when I tried to remember I couldn't," he said and then sat up, looking at his large hands, clenching and releasing them as if he were trying them out for the first time. "The guy just infuriated me. He only applied for the job for you and I got upset. I know that I had no right to hit him like that but he is scum. He's selfish, just applying and wasting your time just to be around you."

"But doesn't that sound familiar?"

Leon looked up and frowned, hoping that he wasn't talking about what he had said earlier.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Cloud stood up and brushed off the back of his pants and reached out a hand to him with a smile. It was his smiles again. They never seemed real, true, or honest. There was always something lurking deep within them, preventing him from truly being happy.

Grabbing his hand, Leon brushed himself off and walked with the blond down the street. The lights were all out and it was dark and quiet. Off to the side he could see the ocean, its waves rushing towards the ocean, only to be pulled away from it. That was the same thing that he felt. Whenever he was close to Cloud something always was there to try to tear him away from him. Like when Cloud had to drop out of college to work.

It was an unfortunate thing for Cloud to drop out in the middle of their third year. He was intelligent and had such a passion to learn, dazzling even the harshest teachers with his eloquence and dedication to see all sides of everything. The professors all believed that he should be a law degree since he was so sharp and had the uncanny ability to see through people. But the blond would just smile and shake his head. _"I'm too kind to be one. I couldn't defend someone who I know is guilty. I can't lie to myself like that. Being a teacher is my calling."_

Looking up to the sky, Leon gave a silent smile at the thought of that. Calling him Mr. Strife was a bit funny. His last name didn't really fit his personality. Cloud never liked conflicts and always wanted a peaceful resolution. And if he taught high school, which was what he wanted to do, the ruffians would eat him alive. He was too kind a person for that. But the thought of him wearing a button up shirt, a black tie, and a pair of khaki slacks teaching unruly children about Shakespeare and Conrad with paper balls thrown at him was a bit comical. A bit.

"What are you laughing about?" Catching himself snickering made the brunette laugh harder, falling into a fit of laughter. Cloud looked to him confusedly, a soft yellow eyebrow raised. "What is so funny?"

"I was just thinking about how you would look if you _were_ a teacher with a classroom of punk kids," he said as he calmed down to faint chuckles, his large hand on his forehead.

"I'm glad it amused you," said the blond, folding his arms crossly.

"Oh come one Cloud! You can't get upset. I know that you've probably imagined me as a pediatrician and probably busted your ass laughing like a fool." Cloud then laughed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Well you _do_ have a point there. It is quite comical," he said.

They continued again in silence, laughing to themselves with images of children ridden with chicken pox throwing up and teenagers busting with acne getting in fist fights in their heads.

"Doctor Leonhart," he heard his companion say with a chuckle.

"It's still alot better than Mr. Strife. That sounds like the of some gothic serial killer."

"Yeah, but I'll look forward to calling you that. It suits you," said the blond serenely, his face softened up with a smile, one of the few _true_ ones Leon had ever seen him have.

'Utterly beautiful.'

* * *

The night was oddly cold as he walked out to get some fresh air. Trying to read half of 'Tess' in one day was tiring and exhausting on the brain. Massaging his temples, he hugged himself as he stood out on the beach. Oddly no one was out but it felt calming, soothing even as he let the wind comb his hair and wash over his skin.

College was pretty tiring and everyone only seemed to care about partying, drugs, or surfing. No one _really_ cared about studying or even paying more than half attention to the lectures. At least _he_ wasn't going to be part of the number of people who were going be kicked out by the end of their first year.

The sea rushed in and out from the shore, making small beautiful waves as they performed their show for him, making him smile happily. The sea always was beautiful. He remembered when he was small and first was able to go to the beach by himself.

His mother was away and his father didn't really care what he did as long as he was safe about it, he always believed that he had basic common sense. But as an eight-year-old child, he hadn't been as careful as he was with his mother and decided to go to the bridge where the bigger kids would jump off and swim in the deeper end of the water. Before he couldn't swim there because his mother said it was too dangerous but he decided to prove her wrong and jump off.

When he hit the water, he remembered the feeling of elation that he had finally been able to do it, being like one of the bigger kids. But he soon realized that he wasn't going up as fast as he wished. Squirming in the water, he finally reached the top and gasped out a yell for help as he struggled to keep himself up. He hadn't been in such a deep area of water and he couldn't swim as well as he thought he could.

As he went under, he heard someone jump down to get him and felt himself being pulled out of the water. When his eyes cleared, he remembered seeing the boyish concerned face of…

Suddenly, out of no where, Sora felt something impact with his jaw, making him stumble back in shock. What was happening? Was it a seagull? Looking up from his now reddening bruise, he saw the furious image of Riku, glaring at him, sweat beading at his forehead and heaving in desperate breaths. His eyes went wide into shock as the taller teen tackled him to the sand, punching him again in that same spot and then pounding furiously at his chest, causing tears of pain to stream down the sides of his face as he cried hysterically in pain.

"What are you doing? Help me! Somebody!" he pleaded as he felt blow after blow connect with each aching part of his body. Why was he doing this? And why now of all places? What had he done to him to make him attack him like that?

Turning over to his sides, he screamed out for him to stop as he cried at the aching pain his body was racked with. He felt a snap on his chest as he guessed that one of his ribs had broken. Blood was flowing down his chin from his bloody lip as he cried out bitter tears, choking on his cries.

"Stop Riku, stop it please," he sobbed tiredly as he felt himself becoming light-headed. Just like that, the attacks stopped and he could feel the shaky hands of his attacker clutch at his shoulders. A few salty tears began to drip down onto his chin as he could vaguely make out the quivering image of the silver-haired jock crying over him, his eyes squeezed shut in disbelief.

He remembered this; it was the same thing he saw then as before. When Riku had pulled him out of the water those ten years ago, he remembered looking up hazily to see the frightened silver-haired boy crying over him, pleading for him to be okay and to wake up. He was confused about it then as he was now. Why did he, the one that had made his life a living hell, care about him enough to rescue him and worry himself so much that he would cry over it?

But when he remembered the tears of the other boy that had went out of his way to save him, it filled him up with happiness. No matter what, he really mattered enough to him to make him want to keep him on this world. If he had really hated him as much as he seemed to, why would he cry the tears that he did?

The same feeling rushed over him now as Riku laid over him, hugging him fiercely close to him, making Sora wince in pain but then relax. Even though he was beaten bloody by him, he still felt the same feeling that Riku truly didn't hate him like he wanted him to believe. He wasn't getting over him as he had previously assumed by how standoffish the silver-haired teen acted around him.

Wrapping his arms around him, Sora buried his face into the crook of the hysterically crying boy's neck, rubbing his back soothingly. "I'm sorry," he heard him whisper between desperate cries. He had made a mistake. Though he thought he wasn't in love Riku, he was being unrealistic with his feelings. He did _love_ him, though it wasn't the long term extent yet, but it was love in itself. When he was in trouble, Riku was there, whether it was pulling him from out of the water from drowning or preventing him from getting in fights by causing a fight with them himself.

Smiling up to the sky, he hugged him back a tighter, enjoying the moment as bruised as he was. Riku was always there for him when he needed him and now Riku needed him the most. He was exposed to him and he knew that it was something the prideful jock wasn't very happy about. But right then, he had allowed himself to be weak for him, giving him chance to hurt him if Sora so desired.

But he didn't. He just held him and let him cry out his frustrations as they laid there under the stars, enjoying the feeling of just being together.

* * *

A/N: Are you all happy now? Riku and Sora had their little moment! Hehe! I'm so temperamental aren't I? Well, this was kind of a chapter based on my own moods from the whole day. Well, it isn't about the same things, I just felt in a random bad mood in the middle of the day. I have to clean up my room so the new windows could be put in. So I'm tired and upset about that. But then, after I typed Riku breaking the stuff, I felt myself releasing my anger as well. So I have to say that writing is very rewarding in itself.

Sadly enough, I listened to about four different CDs for this whole chapter alone. It's weird but I need to put different CDs on for different people's views or else their character gets tainted and it won't work. Thus out-of-character-ness is born. I listened to a light and happy shoujo anime mixed CD for Sora's first part, and a mixed CD of Lil' Jon, Usher, Ciara, and other rap artists for the club scene. Then I listened to Savage Garden's Affirmation CD for the Leon x Cloud part, and finally I listened to music like 'Headstrong' by Trapt and Yahoo's hard rock station for Riku's part until he beat Sora up. Kinda complicated huh? Hehe. Well, I hope you all liked this so much to review right? You better! Bye!


	5. Phase 04: Hear Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: I'm getting so many wonderful reviews from you all. It really touches my heart! And you know what that means. I want to write more! Yeah I know that this story hops around a lot from one time span to another but that's why I call it 'phases.' Its not the everyday things that shape this story, it's the occurrences that happen over a long span of time. So instead of writing 'today I hugged Sora' and 'the day after I asked to tongue him' which many other _supremely_ talented writers do, I can't. I simply don't have the attention span. I get bored of my stories after a while when they are like that. I just can't focus like that. I'm sorry. cries a little Hehe. Well, ignoring my little crying rant, I hope you like this chapter. It's going to be cute, I promise you, a warm kind of Christmas special thing. However, just so you know, Christmas in this world is called Saint's Day.

**And now answering your flood of reviews:**

**SuperSaraMoon: **I know it was evil for Riku to beat Sora up. But when you think about it, it sadly is reasonable to think he would. Hehe! I'm glad you like that scene.

**Agami:** Well, now to address your review. I know, the beginning is kinda blah. I didn't really want to start the chapter with a 'Riku confesses his undying love or Sora in a crowd of three hundred people,' it would have been… rushed ne? Hehe. I kinda wanted to make it so that you ease into the story, like getting into a cold pool. If you jump in, you freak out and freeze like hell, trust me, I know. remembers and shivers So I'm glad you noticed that.

The Leon and Cloud issue I wanted to start from the middle of it. We already see Sora and Riku's relationship from its budding stage and I wanted to bring in Cloud and Leon's at a more awkward but necessary point. They aren't the main couple after all and I really wanted to make sure that they were the mellower of the relationships there. If I had started them from the beginning, they would overpower Riku and Sora and if I started at the end of their troubles, they would only fade out into the background. They needed to be a couple that would bring balance in the tree main relationships this story will explore. Let's see who the third final one is. Hehe.

I like how you laughed about Brother being a druggie. I wanted to make the house be someone's who was a drug addict, kinda weird, and so crazy that you could imagine him jumping off of a table even when sober. All of that equaled Brother in my mind. So he was the lucky participant. Riku's spat with the pickle jar was supposed to be ridiculous, to show how irrational and blinded he was getting. Hard to explain that one. And on a last note, if you have ever lived in a seaside community where seagulls basically raid your high school every day at lunchtime, you would know from experience how stupid and clumsy seagulls really are. The farther inland they get, the stupider they become. Hehe.

**Nightingale Dragon:** I know, the emotions in the last chapter were pretty intense. Hopefully this chapter would be a bit mellower but still racked with feelings. Thank you for reviewing.

**Victoria D.J.:** The story isn't over yet! Hehe! If it was, then I'd truly be evil. Oh yeah. Well, I think that you hit the nail on the head why Riku beat up Sora. He is such a confused character in himself that it would be kind of hard to say that he is a stable person. He is in no way stable. And you're not weird for finding the scene highly romantic. He was hurt by Sora not loving him back and was filled up with so much aggression that he had to let it out one way or another. Makes sense… I think. Hmmm…

…I did Vincent's character well! grins like a fool His character is so hard to truly know enough to write. You can't really make him entirely cold and stoic because he _does_ have those soft spots when he thinks about Lucrecia. And he's an old guy in a young body so he is just so much of an enigma that it has your brain reeling. Thank you for reminding me that he was about 50 or so years old. I though he was 30 or something. I thought 'that's all?' when I typed that in my first response to you in the last chapter. But I must digress; I'm not going to put him into this chapter except when Riku thinks about his friends. I'm sorry. Don't hurt me!

**Sliver Dragon of Evening:** Yeah, it _did_ get pretty intense huh? I really didn't think it would get violent until I saw it being typed from my own hands on the screen. It kind of surprised me too! Well, I'm glad you think that I have a real talent for this. I'm honored. Seriously!

**BlacKat: **I liked your review. I laughed when you said you got scared when Riku was thinking about Sora and Kairi. Yeah, that scene was pretty intense. Basically I had to think of all of the things that made me upset this past year and focus on how angry I was. I guess it worked! HAHAHA! But _I'm_ not the obsessive stalker. This was changed that way for Riku. He's kind of messed up in the head when it comes to Sora. All logic to the wind!

**Sutzina Zion:** Yeah, I know. Tidus is the horny comic relief and he will continue to be until the end of this chapter. This chapter is where his character will slightly change and I'm afraid you all might not like him for a little bit after that. cries I'm a monster!

**Camigirl4k3**: You have a new favorite story? Oh I love you so much! hugs Well, I'm glad you can relate to this story. At least it gives me the understanding that at least _part_ of this is realistic. Hehe! I'm sorry that I didn't continue from the first phase but I kind of wanted it to be not so important. The important thing for that is Sora's thoughts about the whole thing, how he felt that it was going to be something harmless that he could just try out. Now, will Kairi fall for Tidus. winces I kind of want to tell you but you'll just have to see. There will be so many twists and turns that you shouldn't hold on to _any_ couple too long. Just warning ya!

**DancingMistress:** Hehe, I know. It _was _a powerful moment for Sora and Riku. And the fact that he beat him up doesn't go away either. It won't really be addressed in this chapter but it will kind of follow them in a way. But I'm glad you loved that scene!

**Luvable14:** I'm so glad that you love the story! I hope you keep reviewing too. Just hope you still like it after the this chapter, and the next one.

**Kar-chan:** I'm glad that you love my characterization. It's supposed to show how not just the person you love affects your life, everyone around you, even people you only see at a glance, alter your future. And about the Riku breaking down thing. I'm sorry it threw you off. I'll try to explain his emotions more vividly in the future. I just want Riku and Sora's friends to be more of a mystery in their thoughts. That way, they can surprise you more. Well, Riku cried because of his frustration. When a person is in deeply in love with another person and their feelings aren't reciprocated, they get extremely frustrated. And even worse, Riku had to see Sora with Kairi so it frustrated him even more. I guess the whole emotions from that and the shock that he had actually beaten the one he loved made him break down like that. I hope it clears it up more for you. And by the way, I'm glad you understand the music thing too.

**Sina: **Well, this story isn't over yet! I still have a lot more to go. Well, a pretty good chunk. I hope it'll still be one of your favorites! Cause with all of the stuff that is going to happen, I have a feeling that a lot of you will hate me soon! cries And this isn't the best fan fiction you have read. You're making me blush! Don't flatter me! giggles

**Sweatthangpaige: **Arigato gozaimasu! I really hope you continue to read this! I love faithful readers!

**Sora Jr: **Yeah, this story is a product of my many changing moods. I really want to put emotion into it so it can be felt when it is read. And for the CD thing, I unfortunately didn't use it that much for this phase. I wanted it to be kind of out of character as in that it wont have the predictable. People get grouchy, people are hurt, and people… well, I guess you'll just have to see.

**Evilgoddess1990: **Hello! The next chapter is here! No longer any waiting! Wooohoo! Well I hope you enjoy this one as well.

**DieChan:** I'm sorry this chapter wasn't there! I really hate that when stories get good and there are no more updates! It really rubs me wrong! Well, I hope I won't be giving you guys any more delays so there should be a lot more updating from me I promise!

_**WARNING: This chapter contains scenes of semi-graphic man-sex. If you are uncomfortable with it, just skip it or this chapter as a whole. Thank you.**_

* * *

Phase 04: Hear me

* * *

"Sora!" yelled a happy raven-haired woman, holding down her chest with one arm as she jumped and waved. Grinning towards her direction, the said boy rushed faster across the airport hallway, his large rolling luggage trying to keep up behind him.

He was finally back to Destiny Islands for Saint's Day and he could hardly wait to eat his mother's cooking that, until he had been forced to only eat out of the cafeterias, was nothing special. Tonight it would be like sweet ambrosia from the gods.

"Hey mom, dad," he said as he stood in front of his parents, giving them a satisfied and tired smile.

"Glad that you came home for the holidays son. We thought you'd go off with Kairi to party," said his father, the one he _really_ got his looks from. He was really happy that the man before him was his father. Being tall and rather well built with messy light brown hair and icy blue eyes, Sora didn't have any problems understanding how his father used to be a model in his twenties. Now, however, he was simply a businessman which was pretty fine.

Grinning his mother's wide grin, Sora gave her a hearty hug, still feeling a bit sore from his previous injury. Placing her hands on his cheeks, his mother grinned back at him, looking his face over.

"You are even more handsome than when you left. It's hard to find little Sora from this handsome young man before me," she said, making her son blush.

"I'm not _that_ much different than when I left mom," he said, gently pulling her hands from his face, clasping them into his own.

"Well, your friend over there is walking this way. Ask if he wants to come over for dinner," said his mother as her focus changed to a little ways behind him.

Turning around, he could see Riku making his way over to them, his luggage already shipped back to his house before he left. Not like he needed to bring anything back from the dorms, the little prick was pretty loaded for an island guy.

Rolling his eyes, the brunette placed a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow, showing him his obvious irritation.

"I thought you were going to get a ride from your father when you got off."

"Well… see… I _did_ try to call. All I got was that father was too busy to pick me up until two hours from now."

'Here it comes,' thought Sora, knowing what was going to be said next. 'Damn freeloader.'

"So I thought that maybe I could bum a ride from you guys until the mall and then I could get picked up there," he added, his beautiful aqua eyes pleading.

"Why don't you come over for dinner? I was just thinking that we have plenty of food and it'll only spoil if _someone_ doesn't eat it." His mother was always so eager to feed his friends, especially if they were attractive and needy. Riku fit all of them to a perfect 'T.' But it wasn't hard to understand with the silver-haired teen's enchanting bedroom eyes, dazzling smile, lithe yet firm tall body, and charming attitude that would seduce even the most pious to his bed. Unfortunately enough, all of those things came from the brunette's head.

'Why is he so damn good at charming people? At least God could have done us _all_ a favor and make him at least _remotely_ ugly?' he thought as he felt a strong arm lean on his shoulder.

"Well I'd love to Mrs. Bain. I don't want to intrude or anything, it _is _Sora's first night home and I know you are looking forward to spending it with him as a family."

Sora was about to say that he assumed correctly when his mother interrupted, making him roll his eyes.

"Of course you can! I don't know why Sora doesn't agree however."

"What? You don't want me to come?" asked the attractive man he had the _honor_ to call his friend.

Straightening up his face into a twitching grin, deep blue eyes glared threateningly.

"Well, we _did_ want to have a little quiet time at home alone but I think we can allow you to come."

"See, your son is such a selfless person."

* * *

They had been officially done with dinner and somehow the bastard had managed to convince his parents to let him sleep over. Rolling his eyes as he lounged on his bed, he quietly said goodbye to his perfect few days of rest and relaxation.

"You're such an ass Riku," Sora mumbled as he rolled over to his side, cuddling to the cool spot next to the wall.

"Oh come now Sora, I know you were ecstatic when your mother invited me to spend the night. It's not _my_ fault my father was busy with the renovations on the house. Where was I to go?"

"I don't know. Maybe it could have been to the homeless shelter, that's where bums like you go after all," he muttered, curling his arm around his own waist his other cradling his head.

"There's so much love in this room. It's the spirit of Saint's Day, I can tell," he heard the other teen remark as he began another game.

Maybe if he laid still like this, he might be able to get a good half an hour of sleep before Riku got bored of the game and decided to play something else. Convincing himself of that, he closed his eyes shut, picturing sleep coming over him. It was pretty nice. He could lie down and actually take a nap without Tidus being loud on the phone, or entertaining one of his jock friends, or flirting with his new girl for two weeks, or blasting the TV. Now that he thought about it, the only times that he was able to sleep in the dorm was when the blonde was either out cold or gone partying.

Cuddling closer to the wall, he smiled at the small amount of silence he had, well… near silence if he included the sound of Riku playing Soul Calibur. But after a few seconds, his silence was interrupted.

"Sora? Are you awake?"

"Mmmm… let me sleep for a few minutes," he mumbled as he shoved an extra pillow over his head to create more darkness. He really needed sleep right then.

"Oh," was his reply as the silver-haired teen turned back and continued to play the game.

Then there was silence for a few more minutes after that. It was utter bliss as he soon began to drift into peaceful sleep. The first four months of college were hell and he was glad that they were all over. It was just like high school all over again; Tidus flirting with many women, Kairi being outgoing and playing around in sports.

It was unfortunate that Sora wasn't able to try out for any fall sports. He really wanted to play basketball but with his injury from Riku, he wasn't able to heal in time to actually be part of the team. It hurt Riku more than him, he felt so guilty that he quit the team, though many of the players begged him to continue with them.

Feeling the breeze of a draft from his window, he smiled as he thought of his friend Tidus. With the both of them not on the team, he had become the real basketball star, groupies and all. The school loved him all over again but this time for athletics than just a cute face. For the holiday, he, Kairi, and Selphie were going to Kilika for a festival and then would be back in the islands for New Year's Eve. They had invited him but he decided that he really wanted to be with his parents for Saint's Day.

"Sora?" he could hear faintly in his drowsy state. He was way too tired now so he didn't really care to answer back. Couldn't he tell that he was trying to sleep?

The mattress sunk on the side of him and he assumed that Riku had taken the liberty of climbing up next to him. His entire body filled with unease. What was he doing? Was he going to lay down with him?

A hand brushed across his cheek affectionately and Sora remembered he had rolled over onto his back a while ago. Fluttering his eyes open groggily, he could vaguely make out the image of Riku leaning over him, gazing down at him lovingly.

"What is it?" asked Sora as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Just tell me again."

The brunette then groaned at this and rolled over onto his stomach. He can't be doing this all of the time. Even on the plane ride there he kept asking it. Was he always this needy? This amused?

"No more you ass. I _really _need sleep. The plane ride was long and I'm tired," he grumbled into the pillow his face was currently buried in. Riku then laid his body on his, giving him a killer grip and nuzzling his head playfully against his shoulder.

"Please Sora? I'll only ask this once and I'll stop for the next two days," said the annoying boy behind him. His flustered cries were almost entirely drowned out in the pillow as he tried to roll himself over to a more breathable position. Now on his side, he sighed, trying to ignore the apparent blush upon his face.

"I mbhmmmmph…"

"What did you say?" he teased.

"I said I love you! Asshole," he snapped, getting angrier as his blush deepened even more. A smug grin crept onto Riku's face as he then hugged onto the other boy, rocking him side to side in happiness.

"And I love you too," the silver-haired boy said happily, earning a rolling of the eyes from Sora. He perfectly understood why Riku would be so damned happy about it but why did he have to keep asking him over and over again? And in such a persistent manner at that?

That night at the beach two months ago, after Riku had calmed down; they simply laid on the cool sand side by side, holding each other, basking in each other's warmth. Looking back on it, it was a wonderful memory. Riku had apologized for the assault and confessed how he never got over him, how he felt watching him loving someone else.

"_Each time you two are together, it feels like… like someone is slowly killing me inside. It's like you slowly cut me from the inside out until I'm hollow. I bet it probably doesn't make sense huh?" asked Riku, looking into his eyes timidly. Sora looked at the sand below him. How could he not have noticed? With each visibly pained expression that he now remembered the silver-haired teen to have, how could he **not** feel concerned or troubled?_

"_It makes perfect sense Riku." He averted his gaze to the rocks behind them. Why was everything so one-sided? It was especially worse because he knew he felt many things that were relatively similar. Whenever he saw him having fun with Vincent or with Rikku sitting perkily on his lap as his odd little group conversed, he felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness. Moreover, he felt lonely, isolated. It shouldn't have bothered him since throughout high school he was used to seeing him hanging out with his obnoxious jock friends all of the time and he never felt that way. But then again, he realized that he didn't have the same feelings that he had then as he did now. And those feelings only proved to grow with each passing day, as cheesy as it was._

"_What's bothering you?" asked Riku, eyes now filled with concern._

"_I don't know how to explain it. Ever since that day, when we were at that hotel those months ago, I felt like I made a huge mistake."_

"_It wasn't a mistake Sora, I was wrong." Riku's eyes shifted to despair._

"_But I know we could have worked it out. It all stemmed from my own insecurities," he said slowly as he sat up, looking off to the horizon as if for some kind of answer. Riku soon followed suit and seated himself next to him, both facing the now calming sea._

"_Don't blame yourself. The last thing I want is for you to blame yourself for my actions. I was stupid and I didn't take your feelings into consideration."_

"_But you deserved to know how I really felt," he rebutted, making Riku shift his gaze back to him. Feeling the other teen's hand rest reassuringly over his, he blushed at the contact._

"_What do you mean?"_

'_Damn it!' he thought as he looked uneasily up at him, eyes wavering in its once focused gaze. 'I have to tell him now! It's not like I can just say 'I like you' and get away from it.'_

_Seeing the concerned and yet hopeful look in his aqua eyes, Sora sighed and scratched his head uneasily with his free hand, directing his attention to his feet which he now found rather interesting._

"_Well, you see… uh…" he mumbled trying to get it out. It shouldn't have been that hard. 'I love you' was only three short words. It didn't even come collectively to ten letters, why the hell was **this** hard?_

"_What is it?" Riku asked, or rather demanded, as he gently raised the other boy's face up, waiting for a response._

_Sora blushed even redder and tried his best to look away. All he needed to do was to just say it and then they could move on in the conversation._

"_I love you Riku," he said, wincing shortly afterwards, as if in fear of getting hit. Looking back at Riku, the silver-haired teen had a surprised but almost delighted look on his face, as if he wasn't sure if it was real or not._

"_Y-You… **love**… me?" he asked incredulously, obviously trying to hold back a grin behind a forced neutral expression. At this, Sora relaxed and just smiled lopsidedly._

"_Yeah, I love you you ass."_

Sora chuckled at that memory as he was now under the covers with Riku holding him protectively from behind. Luckily his door was locked and his parents didn't suspect anything so it was pretty good.

When he had confessed his feelings to Riku, the poor boy looked as if his face blended into his hair. Then, in almost a split-second later, he was blushing cutely like some girl who had been asked to the dance by her crush. He had laughed at that then, making Riku have an uncharacteristic pout on his face. In the weirdest and most unnecessary situations, Riku was the most hilarious.

The silver-haired vixen behind him snuggled him tighter into his arms, humming something slow as she drifted off to sleep. It irked Sora a little bit. He was the one who wanted to sleep, not the evil little bastard that persistently woke him up every damn five minutes. He had nerve.

"Hey! Riku, wake up," he whispered as he nudged his shoulder into the other boy's chest. His friend then grumbled and rolled over him, making Sora blush at the closer contact. Sure they had been intimate together once before but he wasn't expecting to be crushed by him now.

Looking up at him while he desperately tried to breathe, Sora noticed with an exasperated groan that he still was asleep, feeling him rest his mane of silver-hair between his shoulder. Sighing, he allowed himself to straddle him and tried to get some kind of sleep as well, though it wouldn't come quickly because of his current embarrassing position.

"Thank God for locked doors," he sighed as he nestled his head back into the pillows, closing his eyes to count chocobos.

* * *

Nibelheim was quiet as the snow drifted down silently. This was his second time visiting this place, the first being when Cloud received the worst news of his life. That night, they were walking down the cobblestone streets, watching the tall black horses and carriages go by as they carried the groceries to the house.

"Mother I'm home!" called the blond as they walked in through the door. Silence only greeted them. Leon frowned as his companion chuckled to himself, scratching the back of his head. "I keep forgetting she's not here," he said as he placed his bag onto the kitchen counter.

'That's right, I keep forgetting what had happened that day long ago,' thought Leon as he crashed onto the new and dusty couch.

_It was the last few weeks of high school and Cloud was becoming increasingly excited, making Leon become even **more** annoyed than he was._

"_Aren't you excited Squall? You get to come with me for the whole summer and I get to show you around! It's going to be so great, and you get to meet-"_

"_Your mother, I know! God damn it, what is up with me meeting your mother anyway?" he asked as he ran a frustrated hand through his then short hair. A few of his chocolaty bangs fell back into his face, making him more attractive as people said he did. They were then walking down the long lanes of Djose, a quiet place that was only really known for its temple but they both attended the yevonite boarding school there._

"_Well, I get to show her my favorite person in the world," said Cloud with a sweet smile. Leon simply blushed in embarrassment and looked off to the side of the walk, deciding to admire the shrubbery he had never before felt worthy of his attention._

_With each day that passed, Leon found it harder and harder to control the emotions he was feeling. It didn't seem natural to him, that he was falling in love with his best friend who was a man, no matter how attractive he was. All in all, he shouldn't be feeling this way towards him. He cared about him very much and he didn't want to hurt him, he didn't want to ruin that perfectly beautiful smile that he enjoyed. And, well, Cloud was pretty clueless; being the innocent and sweet guy that he was, all he cared about was school, girls, and being a dancer._

_He remembered the performance from last week. It was the end of the year production and Cloud had landed the part of the angel. "Why didn't you want to be the prince? That's the main character and the male lead," he remembered himself telling the blonde as he looked at the casting sheet on the school bulletin. Cloud just glared at him and stormed off, pouting about his remark._

"_Because the part of the angel is the most physically demanding and I like angels so there! Asshole!"_

"_You know, angels are kinda gay," he said icily but laughing on the inside. Cloud blushed and looked to the floor angrily._

"_I forgot. You're one of those assholes who think **all** us male dancers are a bunch of fags who do ballet. I do modern dance you idiot, that's manly enough!"_

"_Leon?" asked the blond in question, snapping him out of his reverie. The brunette only grinned and rested his arm on his slightly shorter shoulder._

"_I'm sorry, I was just thinking how it would be, your hometown that is," he said, recovering perfectly. Cloud groaned at the weight upon his smaller form and shrugged the other boy's arm off of him._

"_If you keep being the ass that you are now, I won't let you see it." He then paused before continuing his statement. "Heck, I might even bring Seymour instead if you keep this up."_

_Leon's face twisted in disgust at the mention of the 'blue haired fairy-boy' as he liked to call him._

"_What the hell? You'd take that 'See-more Ass-holes' rather than **me**!" Cloud just laughed at his anger as they continued on, the brunette's ranting never ceasing._

_The day they had made it to Nibelheim was a big one. Cloud was so excited that, under his outwardly calm exterior, he was bouncing for joy. Leon could obviously tell and was grinning at the sight. That morning, he made sure that he dressed appropriately for the occasion, wearing his best dress shirt, a deep grey one, and his black jeans. He wanted to look nice but didn't want to come off as if he was trying to sell the woman something. To tone down the look, he didn't gel his hair and wore his favorite lion pendant around his neck._

_Once they had made it off of the train, Cloud was all smiles. He had to have been, he was going back to his hometown, something that Leon painfully lacked._

"_This is the inn and on top of it, there is a statue with one of the wings broken off. When I was young, I threw a rock at it and it broke off. Man I was in trouble for-"_

"_There's no statue up there," said Leon matter-of-factly as he tilted his head to the side, trying to spot the mysterious figure._

"_You probably aren't looking… oh, I guess it isn't there then. That's odd," said the blond, his eyes faltering somewhat. Patting his friend on the back, Leon guided him to start walking again._

"_I know there are probably many other things that you could show me later. Let's go see your mother."_

_That time had unfortunately never come though. When they reached the house, another woman answered, an insurance representative. According to them, Nibelheim had been burned to the ground a little after Cloud had left two years ago. The fire started when a mysterious arsonist came and set it ablaze for reasons unknown._

_When he had received the news, Cloud ran up and down the stairs trying to find his mother, calling out her name frantically as he swung open even the pantry door in his search. But alas, his mother was gone, burned alive in the flames. Everything in the town was rebuilt and Nibelheim was filled with all new people, people the blond had never seen in his life living in houses that once belonged to his relatives, his childhood friends, and people who he had known since he was a baby,_

"_It's all gone…" Leon heard Cloud mutter as he collapsed to his knees, holding himself as his wide blue eyes stared at the new wood flooring below him in disbelief. "They're all gone."_

_Making his way over to him, the brunette kneeled in front of him, running a hand through his friend's hair. "I'm sorry," he said, watching as his friend broke down and cried. Pulling his weeping form into his lap, he sat there in the middle of the floor and cradled him as he cried._

"_Why couldn't I have been there? Why did this all happen?"_

Looking up at Cloud, he felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Here they were, back again, and Cloud was acting as if it was all normal to him. It wasn't normal that his whole town was burned to the ground and suddenly resurrected as if everything could simply be fixed, as if living things could be so easily replaced. It wasn't normal that all that could be given to him was the deed to the house that his mother had fortunately paid off a few years prior and the approximate location where his mother was quietly buried. And it wasn't in the least fortunate that he had to drop out of college in the middle of his second year because all of the insurance money and the inheritance that was left to him was stolen from him by the greedy bank who held it, leaving him stranded on Besaid with no way to get back home.

"What would you like for dinner Squall? I have some onions for that beef stew you always like and I have the pasta for chicken parmesan," said Cloud with another one of his half-smiles while he looked in the drawers for some pots and pans.

"Cut the bullshit Strife." The blond blinked and looked at him confusedly, pan in hand.

"What do you mean? Are you feeling well?" he asked, concern laced in his voice as he placed the pan down.

"It's _you_ that's not well," started Leon as he stood up, strolling slowly over to the kitchen. "You act as if nothing happened here, like everything is so goddamned peachy."

Cloud sighed and pulled out the oil, unscrewing it in thought. His eyes seemed as if storms were raging through him, becoming eerily contemplative.

"You shouldn't say such things Squall. I can't simply dwell on the past, it'll only give me more pain than I need." He placed the bottle of oil to the side and reached in the bag for the onions. Leon glared at him, grabbing his arm roughly, making him drop the onion to the floor with a thud.

"Squall, what has gotten into you?" scolded Cloud as he tried to pull his hand away, only to feel the grip crush around his wrist tighter. "You're hurting me," he whispered roughly.

"Good, at least you're feeling _some_ kind of emotion," Leon said, tightening on his wrist even more. "You're such a cold-hearted bastard Cloud."

"How am I the cold-hearted bastard? You're the one who is hurting me for no reason at all," said the blond, his eyes narrowing in anger. This only fueled Leon's aggression even more, making him shove him forcefully against the counter, hearing the pan rattle sharply in agitation. He could see the slight reddening on the blonde's face at the feel of his friend's body pressed up so closely against him. His wide blue eyes watched him cautiously, a slight hint of fear swimming deep with in them. However, Leon's grip was still around his bruising wrist, making Cloud wince in pain.

"I can't stand watching you go through life as if it were some chore! You carry on, continue to be persecuted and used by others and still keep that damn sad smile on your face!" He pressed Cloud into the side of the counter even more, his tall body looming over him threateningly. The blond looked away to the ground next to them, making Leon, force his face to look at him with his other hand.

"You're not running out on it this time. Don't you hide from me," he said icily, his eyes glaring down on his friend. Cloud tried to wrestle his way out of his grip but failed, giving him a slightly fearful sideways glance.

"Leon, you aren't acting yourself," he calmly stated, trying to persuade the other man to calm down. But Leon was well aware of it. He knew he wasn't acting like his outwardly cold but usually gentle self. He was acting oddly aggressive again like his other previous incidents. But he didn't care, he was too frustrated and upset to realize it.

He had to watch Cloud, he man he loved, be trampled upon, abused, and exploited to only get a small monetary gain in response. Whenever life seemed to be going towards the correct track for him something happened and made life hell all over again, making him work even harder. The worst was that his friend never cried over it, or was upset, or even complained the slightest amount. He only picked up the extra burden and continued to labor until the probable end where he would die from exhaustion.

Feeling the tears build up in his eyes, he pulled away, releasing his hold on him. "I fucking hate you so much," he muttered as he turned away from him and leaned over the dining room table, trying to keep the tears from falling.

"I-I'm sorry," he heard Cloud say from behind him, probably nursing his arm. He had hurt him, making him no different from the other bastards out there. It made him sick to think about it.

"You try so hard Cloud. You try so hard to have a normal life, to go to school and be carefree, to laugh again like I remembered you would. You haven't _truly_ smiled since your mother died," he said, giving a cruel chuckle at the last part. Looking up to the ceiling, he continued.

"But the harder you try, the more people use you and make you work even harder. You can't be so delusional as to not think about it too."

He felt the other man's presence rest next to him, a hand placed on his back in reassurance.

"I know, I think of it all the time."

"Then why don't you do anything!" Leon yelled, making Cloud pause and sigh in defeat.

"Because… I can't do anything about it," he replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "I know it's hard to watch it all happen Squall and I know you want to help. It's unfair and it shouldn't be this way, I know that. Believe me, if I could just _fly away_ from all of my problems I would in a heartbeat. But there are few things that keep me in this life, few things that make me happy that I want to cherish forever and I need to keep working hard to keep them."

Leon sighed and began to walk away when he felt a strong hand grab his arm.

"Don't abandon me," said Cloud more as a command than a request, making the brunette sigh tiredly and chuckle.

"How could I? I'm still in love with you after all."

* * *

The constant creaking sound of the car grew more incessant as the silver-haired teen thrust roughly into the writhing boy underneath him. Even with their loud groaning, Sora's constant breathless panting, the sound of skin meeting skin, and the squeaking sounds of the car rocking side to side, the cacophonous sound of sex aroused Riku even more as the pleasure became too intense for him to bear.

They had been going at it for a good few minutes and he was relishing in every second of their rough lovemaking, pounding into Sora with a building need to release. His lover seemed to enjoy it even more so than the last time they had relished in the pleasure of each other's bodies, this time he desperately bucked his hips against Riku's own rhythm, trying to attain as much pleasure as possible and drive his length even deeper into him.

The muscles all over his body were sore and aching as he pushed himself to continue, hearing Sora cry out under him even louder as his once sultry moans became frantic screams of lust acknowledging that he was soon to come. Thrusting himself harder into it, he felt a large burst of pleasure erupt from him as he called out his name, his long sweat-filled silver tresses sticking to his shoulders and hanging over his face.

"Oh god Riku!" yelled Sora as he shuddered and cried out into an orgasm, feeling his lover reach the same amount of pleasure before he collapsed on top of him in a sweaty mess. The car lurched to the side and then settled itself with a lazy groan of the joints. He knew it was bad for the vehicle and especially bad for the leather seats that they were now cuddling on, bathed in sweat with their abdomens laced with Sora's juices. But at this moment, laying in utter bliss after he had fucked the brains out of the love of his life, he really didn't care. Things could be replaced after all.

However, it was a bit embarrassing remembering that they would have to ask the driver to come back in and continue driving them back to the manor where they were bound to have more animalistic love-making to do. The whole car now smelled like sweat, pheromones, and hot man sex and he sighed in exasperation, burying his face into Sora's now sticky shoulder. This was going to be a very awkward ride back indeed.

"What's wrong Riku?" asked his lover, making him shove his face deeper into his neck. He didn't really want to tell him that they needed to hurry up and clothe themselves so they could be driven the other ten minutes of the drive to the manor. But then again, he couldn't really make the poor driver stay outside too long by himself while they cuddled naked in the back seat. Riku sighed, knowing what answer it was.

"We can't stay like this too long, the driver has to take us the rest of the way back to the manor," he grumbled, watching Sora's already flushed cheeks redden even more as his eyes widened in shock.

"What! I almost forgot!" he exclaimed, moving himself abruptly, forgetting that Riku was still inside of him. The silver-haired teen winced and pushed him back down, a hand clutching at his lower abdomen.

"Oh! I'm sorry Riku!"

"Shit! Just don't fucking move…" he muttered gruffly as he eased himself out of him, leaning against the driver's seat for balance. His now spent member throbbed a little from the slight twisting it had from Sora's reaction but he was otherwise unharmed.

Looking back up, Riku noticed that Sora had already begun changing, or rather, attempted to. He was standing hunched over as he fumbled with his boxers, trying to slip them over his right leg as he winced at the excruciating pain that he guessed Sora to have in his ass. Watching the display, he laughed, making the brunette glare at him in frustration.

"You think it's so funny huh? Go ahead, laugh it up you asshole! Ewww… it's all squishy and shit too," whined Sora, making Riku give out a hearty laugh.

Slipping their clothes on, they used a pair of Riku's socks to wipe down the backseat for anything that they could have sweat or dripped onto the black leather.

"My father is going to kill me," said Riku, scrubbing down on the seat. A particular cum stain didn't want to come out. Sora smirked as he gave his portion the final wipe down.

"Well, you know you could always run away I might have some room for you."

"God damn it Sora! You're the reason that we're doing this in the first place!"

"Well, I didn't think giving you a quick groping would end up in wild Riku sex. You didn't have to stop the damn car you know either. It must be damaging to watch it shake like that," said Sora with a chuckle, leaning back into the chair gingerly. Riku grinned.

"Yeah I know. I saw the glass fog up too. It was pretty awesome if I do say so myself." As Sora opened the door to call the driver back, Riku pulled the door back closed and pressed the brunette back onto the seat, making him lay out like previously.

Sora looked up to him puzzledly. "What do you think you are doing Riku? I'm too sore right now and I know you're too tired," he stated curiously, earning a heated kiss from the lips of his lover.

"I know… but there are other ways to please you," he said, his fingers nimbly undoing his lover's pants yet again. Sora blushed as he watched Riku pull his unused member out of his pants, licking his sexy lips as he thought about how to start first.

"Oh Riku…" he moaned as he arched his back, feeling his warm mouth around him. His breath hitched as he felt the velvety softness of his tongue, making him claw at the seats franticly. 'Fuck the driver, he could freeze for all I care!'

* * *

"Don't say what you don't mean Squall," said Cloud as he looked at his friend with a more serious gaze.

"I do mean it, I love you."

The blond gave a frustrated sigh and walked back to the kitchen, picking up the things that had fallen off of the counter in their argument.

"This is total bullshit," he muttered.

"What do you mean 'bullshit'? I _do_ love you Cloud, I always have."

Cloud just shook his head as a deep frown cemented itself upon his face. There were few times when he didn't have a constant smile on his face, fake or not. But how could he keep smiling when the one person he trusted to help him through all of his troubles had become a trouble in himself. Squall was supposed to be his sanctuary, the one he could be free with and not have to worry about how he felt or having to please him.

"Well stop it then," he said callously, pulling out a knife to chop up the onion. He didn't really know what he was making but he knew it better be edible by the time he was done with it.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't need another burden on my life, I have enough people falling for me as it is." It was true. So many people had professed their love for him, stalked him, and admired him from afar that it was annoying. Until now, Squall was the only friend he had that wasn't madly in love with him or using him in anyway.

"I see." The brunette stood there staring at the floor, his face as pale as snow. Cloud averted his eyes and threw the onions into the pan, hearing it sizzle with the oil. Seeing the utter shock and pain on his friend's face made him uneasy.

"I'm sorry I'm a burden to you," said Squall despairingly as he walked silently out of the room and upstairs. Cloud sighed as he heard the bedroom door click.

* * *

Sora smiled as they walked down the isolated parts of the beach, his hand lovingly intertwined with the teen next to him. They were currently walking around, trying to find shells for some reason that Riku wouldn't say. The whole idea didn't seem like it made any sense to him but he just shrugged it off and followed him.

"I know this place that I think you would like," said the silver-haired boy next to him, giving him a reassuring grin. He was really acting fishy. Whenever they were together in previous times, he seemed so diplomatic about everything that it seemed as if they were discussing business than anything else. Now he seemed a bit too anxious, even giddy in a way.

They were walking down the side of the beach, the wind now blowing colder and harder against the tall rock wall next to them. It was pretty to look at though, the smooth black shells that were glistening in shades of purple pink and blue with the moonlight. The colors cat their glow over them, making him sigh in contentment.

Riku turned back at this, an eyebrow raised in concern. "Are you okay Sora? Are you too tired?" The brunette shook his head and gave a small squeeze to his lover's hand, telling him to continue.

The rest of the trek led them over a slightly flooded tide pool that Riku had cavalierly helped him across and into a somewhat large cave. The walls were a shiny and smooth navy blue, polished by sand, wind, and water. Now, from age, the inside was a nice little area, dry and cool with a small hole in the upper-right hand of the ceiling, letting a bit of moonlight pool in and onto the ground, illuminating it in its glow.

What really surprised him more was when Riku brought him over to a small mass of blankets in the middle of the cave and pulled one of them to the side, revealing a small basket. Taking the rest of it out, he revealed its contents of gourmet sandwiches, thermoses of warm soup, and a bottle of wine that the brunette assumed that he had smuggled secretly into the basket.

Gently leading him over to the arrangement of food, Riku placed him on one of the thick pillows and then moved to his seat across from him.

"Wow, this is really nice Riku," said Sora as he too another look around the cave. Riku simply smiled as he lit a few more of the covered candles that were arranged around the mat that they were eating on.

They began to eat and Sora enjoyed ever single bite. 'I hate to admit it but Riku can be really romantic when he wants to be,' he thought with a sigh as he finished another cup of soup.

"Hey, I have a surprise for you," said the silver-haired teen as he fished through the basket for a semi-large bundle wrapped in a gray handkerchief. Watching him unwrap it delicately, it revealed a fairly large star-shaped fruit, obviously fresh with the soft green leaves still on its points. Sora blushed at the fruit.

"Well, I was packing all of the food and I thought that maybe you wouldn't mind sharing one. The tree in the yard was so ripe and…" said Riku as he tried to fight off a stubborn blush. Sora just chuckled and smiled, nodding his head.

"I'd love to share one with you."

Riku eyed him over and then smiled his playful grins. Pulling off the top leaves from one of the points, he placed it to his lips and took a fair sized bite.

"It's really sweet. I got a good one." He held the fruit up to his lover's lips. Sora eyed the fruit and blushed.

"What does it taste like? I've never had a paopu before," he asked, nibbling on his lower lip. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, it's kind of a mix of different things. Just try it."

Sora cautiously closed his eyes and bit off a little piece, swirling it around on his tongue.

"Wow! It tastes like pineapple and mango and kiwi and banana and is crunchy like a strawberry but slightly fuzzy like an apricot!" he chimed as he bit off another piece, a bigger one.

"I think you just named all of your favorite fruits," replied Riku with a chuckle. Sora straightened up and smiled one of his beaming smiles.

"Thank you Riku, I mean it." Riku blushed and passed him the rest of the fruit.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied timidly.

* * *

"Squall let me in, I have dinner."

Silence.

He knocked on the door.

"It's beef stew with onions. I even made the bread that you like."

There was still no answer. Sighing with frustration, he knocked again.

"You can't just starve in there. At least have some food-"

Squall opened the door, eyes focused on the floor as if tracing his path back to his bed. The blonde just followed him in and set the food onto the small desk next to the armoire. As he prepared to walk out of the door, Squall stopped him.

"You still love him don't you?"

He paused at the door, his bright blue eyes wide in shock. Why was he bringing him up?

"That has nothing to do with this Squall," he said as he straightened his shoulders, giving a threatening glare back to his friend. The brunette only gave him a rather mournful smile, his eyes never really meeting with his.

"I think it does."

"And what the hell does that mean?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning against the door frame.

"You aren't giving me a chance because you are still holding on to him. You still believe that he's coming back for you after all of these years. After all the times that he had hurt you." He looked up at Cloud with a look full of agony. "After what he did to you, you still love him?"

"Tch… There's no need to blame others for not getting what you want. I don't want to love you because I _don't_ love you. You're no different than everyone else," he said, soon regretting it. Squall's face fell and he looked towards the food left on the table.

"You're right, I am no different. You shut me out like everyone else and only keep me around when I'm useful to you, to make you feel more like a man right?"

Cloud looked to the floor. He didn't want to admit it but he _was_ being selfish. The only reason he could readily come up for having Squall around was to help him ignore the underlying problem he was facing. He _was_ in love with the aqua-eyed devil that caused him so much anguish, the one who confessed to burning the town of Nibelheim to the ground, the one who had taken his mother away from him, the one who cornered and raped him repetitively in his own home, and the one who left him callously for another woman.

He didn't know why he loved the evil creature but somewhere deep in his heart, when he was cradled in Squall's trembling arms that night when he found him bruised and broken, he knew that he really wished that it was _him_ that came back and held him, telling him that it was okay. And since that time, he had been using Squall, twisting his friend's then obvious love for him to his advantage. Maybe, just maybe, it all would relieve his heart from the torment it was going through. But it wasn't his fault that Squall was so infatuated with him, that was his own problem. He didn't need to be pulled down by him and his over obsessive habits.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been fair to you." He stood up and began to walk out of the door. "From now on I won't need you anymore."

* * *

"Yay! It's Saint's Eve!" cheered Selphie as she did a few giddy jumps into the air. The whole island was decorated in silver and blue tinsel, fake snow sprayed all over the trees. It was actually pretty thrilling for all of them to be back home to celebrate the holidays. Selphie was a bit too into the festivities, decked all out in a pale blue schoolgirl skirt and a gray tank with a summoner's symbol on it.

"Calm down Selph, it seems so unlike you to be so giddy like this. I'm starting to get nostalgia about middle school," laughed Tidus, earning a quick pinch of the cheeks. He yelped in pain and everyone laughed at the spectacle.

"I don't know why I have been missing out on this the last nineteen years of my life," chuckled Riku as he walked next to Sora. The brunette sighed and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

"I don't know why you'd be so amused by their constant flirting; I have to see this every day."

"WE'RE NOT FLIRTING!" was the synchronized answer of Selphie and Tidus, actually agreeing on something safe for once. Sora winced and Riku simply laughed.

"It's pretty funny to me," he replied, watching the two ahead bicker yet again, this time over what the real story of Saint's Day was. Kairi giggled and quickly hugged onto her boyfriend's arm, making him blush in embarrassment.

"I'm glad _we're_ not like that," she said. Sora laughed nervously like a fool and awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Definitely! You're right again Kairi!" This made Kairi look at him in confusion. The brunette mentally smacked himself, she may be cute but she _did_ have the knack of knowing when something was up.

"What's wrong Sora, you've been acting strangely."

"Oh don't worry! I'm perfectly fine, just a little tired. Hee hee?" The redhead furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at him as if trying to read him. He began to laugh uncontrollably and the two up ahead looked back at him in confusion.

"Dude Sora, what the hell is so funny?" asked Tidus. Oh shit, he was screwed. All eyes were on him and he knew that he wouldn't be able to escape this situation without leaking out something he wasn't supposed to or making a complete ass of himself. The latter option was becoming a lot more tempting by the second.

"He's just being a dumb ass, ignore him. Let's go off to wherever the hell you wanted to take us before he pisses himself," muttered Riku as he continued off towards Selphie and Tidus. Sora mentally did flips in the air. Thank God Riku was a believable asshole.

The silver-haired teen stopped and looked over his shoulder at the group. "Are we going or not? I don't like wasting my time, I have better things to do."

Tidus shoved his hands into the pockets of his tan shorts, raising a blond eyebrow. "And who the hell made _him _king? It's stupid Sora that invited him anyway," he muttered, making Riku smirk at the comment.

"You're right, Sora _did_ invite me."

They walked down the way to the movie theater and they all bought their tickets, well, everyone except Sora. He ran his hands through his pockets nervously, trying to find his wallet.

"What's wrong Sora?" asked Kairi as she began to fiddle with her ticket.

"Shit, I can't find my wallet! I know that I put it in my pocket before I left. Here's my cell phone, it should be in here too," he mumbled as he pouted childishly. It was totally embarrassing, especially in front of Kairi and Riku. Tidus began to pull out his wallet and Selphie did the same.

"I have another five hundred munni," said Tidus as he pulled out the five bills. As Sora reached out for the munni, he had a ticket placed into his hand instead. He looked up at Riku in confusion.

"Let's just get inside," said Riku before brushed past the brunette and out of the line to the front door. Luckily everyone was eyeing Riku as if he had grown a second head so Sora could fight off the blush that was staining his face.

"First he's his usual evil self and now he's… nice," whispered Selphie as she followed after the teen wide-eyed. Tidus, on the other hand, was skeptical.

"I think you're just trying to be buddy-buddy with Sora to get Kairi." Riku laughed at this and raised an eyebrow as they rested in line for food.

"And what kind of idea is that? Kairi isn't at all my type, sorry to offend."

"Well good, you aren't my vision of an ideal lover either," said the red-head as she put her hands upon her hips. This made the silver-haired boy grin.

"After all, it's not like me to use people. If I want something, I'll reach out and grab it, even right out of your hands." Tidus eyed him suspiciously with his new bucket of popcorn in his hand.

"Now what is _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked, making Sora nervous once again. What was he trying to do, _tell_ them that he was cheating on his girlfriend with the evil bastard before them? Riku walked threateningly over to the blonde and towered over him, a sly grin across his lips. The other boy only glared up at him defiantly.

Cupping the blonde's chin in his hand, he watched the look of panic blossom on his face. "Exactly what you think I mean blondie," he said before snatching up a small bit of his popcorn and popping it into his mouth with a satisfied smirk. Tidus' face first flushed white and then tinged red in anger and embarrassment.

"Damn cocky bastard," he muttered before he walked off towards the general direction of the theaters. Selphie chased after him, yelling back in Riku's direction.

"Only _I_ call him blondie!"

Riku shrugged and went up to the cashier. Kairi frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'll go after Tidus and Selphie; I don't want them killing each other." Giving him a quick few kisses, she jogged off towards her friends' direction. Sora sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, regarding his friend with a peeved expression.

"You know that was uncalled for," he muttered, making sure that the others were out of listening range. Riku simply shrugged as he looked at the candy section under the glass, hunching over gracefully.

From his position, Riku looked rather delectable. His deep black baggy cargo shorts ended at his lower calves and showed off his ass nicely as the belt straps attached from the back and crossed over to clip onto the front. The stitching was all in red and matched the blood red t-shirt that displayed his chest muscles and back nicely. His choppily cut silky silver-hair now rested a bit below his shoulders, framing his face perfectly. The thick chain bracelet around his wrist clinked against the glass as he leaned to the side to get a better view of what was in the back.

After he thought about it he realized that Riku had really changed a lot. Before they went to college, he was more of spoiled brat bully that wore designer clothing. He just seemed angry and nothing much else, no real sense of substance. Now he was a lot more of a bad boy and dripped pheromones that could be smelled miles away. Basically, he was a budding sex god, pure and simple.

"Eh, I don't care. You should know that by now Sora-dear." The brunette rolled his eyes at the random use of a pet-name and walked over to his friend.

"Hurry up, the others are waiting for us. Tidus might get fantastical ideas about us or something to that degree."

Riku only grinned and stood up, slipping an arm around his lithe waist, making his lover blush. "I was just looking for something that you might like." The poor guy behind the counter stood there embarrassedly, trying not to stare but at the same time, trying not to ignore the customers as well.

"Well, popcorn is fine, and I like those I guess," said Sora, getting redder as his lover nuzzled his nose into his thick brown hair, inhaling the scent of coconut.

"You heard him, get what he wants," said Riku sternly, making the cashier search behind the counter for the sweet fruit-drop candy.

"Did you want another popcorn with that?" asked the cashier nervously.

"Naw… this will do, and just get me that and that's all," said Riku, temporarily letting go of the brunette to pull out his wallet. He bought the food and they both carried it away to the theater.

Walking down the aisles, they noticed the two bickering heads of Selphie and Tidus with Kairi trying to gently stop the argument. A well manicured hand hit the blonde upside the head and he began to yell something about crazy amazons.

"They are totally going to get married," said Riku, making his lover look up to him in confusion.

"How the hell did you get that?" he asked.

"Well, you can tell that they love each other because they cause arguments just to get the other's attention. You should know _that_ by now dealing with me over the years," he said with a chuckle and walked down the rest of the aisle and to their seats. Luckily their seating arrangement was satisfactory. Selphie sat at the edge, leaving Tidus to be between her and Kairi. Then after the red-head was Sora and then Riku to the corner, his feet propped up over the seat in front of them.

"Stop Riku, you shouldn't do that." The other teen raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

'God you sound like a two-year-old like that,' thought Sora. "Well, people behind us might not be able to see."

Riku shrugged and got more comfortable, earning a death glare from his friend.

"Well fuck them, they could move for all I care."

Sora sighed and leaned back into his chair. 'Mental note, Riku when he is alone is reasonable. Riku around other people is an arrogant and annoying asshole,' he thought.

"Oh, and by the way, Sora meant to give this to you," muttered the jock as he passed over the box of candy-coated chocolate to Kairi. The girl looked at them curiously and back at Riku. "He was insisting on getting you something because he felt _so_ guilty about leaving his wallet like an idiot. It got too sappy to bear."

Kairi then beamed and hugged the brunette, making him blush. "Thank you so much Sora! You are the best boyfriend ever," she said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. Taking a quick look at Riku, he received a reassuring smile and laid back into the chair, allowing his hand to be clasped around the happy girl's next to him.

The movie wasn't really that exciting, just something stupid about a girl who was running from spirits that were haunting the house, making her freak out. Sure it was a bit frightening but he kept feeling awkward about the whole thing. He was at the movies with Riku and Kairi, which was a nice thing, but they were both with him at the same time!

Kairi kept cuddling herself against him and leaning up for kisses. Every time, he was afraid to hurt Riku's feelings but, to Sora's surprise, he kept giving him approving nods and reassuring glances. The whole time, he really wanted to cuddle against the silver-haired man next to him and be treated with love and affection for everyone _else_ to see.

Moving his arm away from around his girlfriend, he relaxed back into the chair pulled the popcorn away from Riku. "Sorry Kai, I'm a little hungry," he said, earning a sweet smile from her as she turned back to the film.

The popcorn tasted wonderful at that exact moment, lightly drizzled with butter and a hint of sugar. He guessed that Riku had eaten all of the sickly drenched pieces. 'Hell, the movie's actually getting good,' he thought as he shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth. He could faintly hear a chuckle and then he felt warm breath against his left ear.

"You look so cute right now," he whispered as he secretly nibbled on his ear. Sora blushed as red as a beet, thanking God that it was a dark scene. If anyone had seen that, he couldn't joke his way out of it. Feeling his mouth suddenly dry up, he looked around and then eyed Riku's soda.

"Hey, can I have some?" he asked still blushing, his mouth getting dryer by the second. The silver-haired boy raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, passing his drink over to him. The brunette noticed his lover giving a wicked glare over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye but he just ignored it, he was way too thirsty at that point to even remotely care.

They continued to watch the rest of the movie, laughing at a few parts and Sora being rather enjoyed when Riku would tell off the main characters and wishing they were dead. It was a good Saint's Eve and he was enjoying every minute of it. Feeling Riku's fingers secretly entwine with a few of his as they sat made him feel even more content.

"I'm gonna get some more soda. Do you want anything else?" asked Riku as he slipped his fingers out of his grasp and leaned over. Sora just shrugged. They had finished their popcorn, rather, _he_ ate all of _Riku's_ popcorn, and he didn't want much else.

"Nope, I'm good."

Riku then walked out of the theater and Sora rested back into the seat, watching the girlfriend get hacked up by some kind of razor spirit. It was kind of funny, she spent the whole movie saying that they needed to leave and that they shouldn't be at the house in the first place. But then her idiot boyfriend left her to go find batteries and she got attacked by the razor spirit. But she was running though so she might make it back to the guy anyway. The spirits were stupid too. They get defeated by light? What kind of crap was that?

Kairi rested her head against Sora's shoulder. "Do you like the movie?" she asked, violet eyes looking up to him. He shrugged and gave her a goofy grin.

"Well, the dumbass left the girl in a pantry with only the dying flashlight to get killed. That was kind of dumb," he mumbled, feeling a yawn coming in. She gave him a lingering kiss and hugged him playfully.

"You're such a moron Sora!" she giggled, earning a playful shove from Tidus.

"Stop your love-making you two, get a room!"

Kairi simply stuck her tongue out and shoved him back, scaring the crap out of Selphie.

"Hey! I was in the middle of my damn nap! And this movie is scary! What's the big deal?"

"Sorry Selph, you're little boyfriend here wanted to pick a fight with my girlfriend," said Sora with a grin, receiving an empty box of dried fruit to the head as an answer.

"Well then all of you shut up! There's a movie going on and I need my nap!" she yelled, ignoring the annoyed calls of the other people in the theater.

Sora noticed Tidus' questioning stare and he raised his eyebrows at that.

"What? Do I have something on me?" he asked, earning a shrug of the shoulders from the blonde.

"Oh nothing, just thought it was nice what you just said," he replied nonchalantly and rested back into his chair. However, Sora still wasn't pleased by his answer. Something seemed to be wrong with him and he was worried. What was he thinking about?

Before he could continue with that thought, there was a vibrating at his side pocket.

"What the hell?" he almost shrieked, jumping out of his chair. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out the slim cell phone that he recognized as Riku's. 'Damn bastard must have slipped it in while he was holding me in line,' he thought as he shoved it back in.

"What's wrong?" asked Kairi, making Tidus look up in curiosity as well. Sora sighed and ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

"It's Riku's damn cell phone. He accidentally left it and he just got a call. I'll be right back. Sorry Kai," he said and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he edged his way out of the row.

"Don't take too long," Tidus muttered after him.

* * *

Zen closed his eyes as he smelled the wonderful meal that his father was making. It was Saint's Eve and the dinner for that night was going to be excellent. It had been a full month and a half since he and his brother delighted him with getting admitted into Besaid University for the spring term. All of their work, well, all of _his _work and Zenith's natural skill led up to their father being the happiest that he was in years since their mother died.

Walking upstairs, he entered his room and laid out on the bed, smiling at the thought of the wonderful feast.

"Dad's making something good in the kitchen, as usual!" he cheered, stretching out his long limbs.

"Of course he has, dad _was_ a chef you know," said his brother as he shook his head and returned to reading the next installment of a werewolf series he was reading. He rolled his eyes as he sat himself up. Zenith was a total book nerd, reading novel after novel about some kind of werewolf shit. He didn't really care for it. Sure there was a lot of blood and chicks getting banged but he didn't have the patience to read over five-hundred pages _each_.

"Well, sorry Mr. Oh-I'm-so-brilliant-that-I-sit-in-my-room-and-read-all-of-the-time!"

"You know you could have said that in a totally shorter sentence. You always run on like a moron."

Zen growled and glared at his brother.

"Why do you always pick on _me_ you asshole? I should just kick your ass right now…"

"Well, I'm always bailing you out of your little misadventures and rendezvous."

Sometimes, having a twin brother was God's gift to the world, they could switch classes and take tests for each other, and sometimes even pose as the other person to help them get out of trouble. But for Zen at this point in time, having a brother like Zenith was hell. With being a twin came the endless comparisons. They'd always say that Zenith was the smarter one and the perfect son while _he_ was the rude and spoiled child that didn't do a thing that he was told. The only class that he could pass with flying colors was P.E., they could never beat him when it came to a long distance run.

"Hey Zen," said his brother, flashing his bright green eyes.

"Yes brother of mine?"

"Are you excited, we are to be going to Besaid in a few weeks," he asked, placing his book down and turning his chair to face his brother. Zen looked at the ceiling and swung a leg to rest over his knee. Folding his arms behind his head, he sighed.

"Eh, I guess I could be. We couldn't get into any other schools that I wanted to go and I definitely don't want to go to Kalm Uni-shit-sity. All they do is watch chocobos fuck and get lost in tall grass. Its very boring there," he replied, his eyes turning to a glare a the thought of the school. They _had_ made it into two schools but if he really wanted to have some kind of life during and after school, he needed to pick Besaid. After all, he didn't want to go off and marry some farm girl, that wasn't his style.

"Well, I guess it could have been helped if you actually _did_ do your work your last year of high school. Remember that _I _was the one that helped us get into that probationary program in the first place," remarked Zenith as he ran a tired hand through his short blonde hair. His twin laughed embarrassedly at that.

"Yeah I know you idiot. But you could have just went to Yevon U without me. Become a nice rich lawyer too," he replied. His brother shook his head.

"That school's way too churchy and I really don't like the idea of being separated from you anyway, we're all that we have since mom died."

It was true. Since their mother had died, their father had been wracked with depression and had attempted suicide on numerous occasions. With him hovering on stability, they only were able to rely on each other, taking care of the house, cooking, even keeping up on each other's school work. Throughout the years, they had learned to survive on their own and to rely on no one else.

Zen sighed and adjusted his black t-shirt. "But still Zee…" he muttered, a saddened look spreading across his face. Noticing this, Zenith walked over towards the bed and sat down next to him, allowing his brother to place a protective arm around his waist. He sighed tiredly.

"Don't worry about it okay. After all, going anywhere with you always brings up chaos. You are like mother after all big brother," said the younger.

Zen smiled and rubbed his brother's back as he looked up to the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll cause hell eh?"

"Boys! Appetizers are ready!" At hearing this, Zen's ears pricked up.

"After dinner!"

They both jumped up and raced downstairs, trying to hold each other back at each turn.

"Not if I get there first big brother!"

* * *

"Riku, why are you so horny all the time?" he asked as he tried to slow his breathing. His forehead was pressed into the side of the stall, moaning slightly as he felt his lover's soft fingers gently trace over his now spent member.

"Oh I don't know, you're just so fuckable that I always want a piece," he said with a content sigh. The brunette simply sighed and placed a hand over his.

"We need to get back to the movie. They probably won't take it that you had a long emergency call with us _both_ being out for ages."

Riku sighed and let go of him, moving away and walking out of the stall. Situating himself, Sora readjusted his pants and ran a hand through his hair, trying to regain its normal look. Looking down, he noticed a small semi-translucent puddle on the floor.

"Ewww… sex with you is always so disgusting," Sora muttered with a blush as he pulled out a wad of toilet paper and tossed it to the ground in a clump.

The silver-haired boy looked over to his direction from the mirror and shrugged.

"Well if you don't like it, try putting up a fight next time," he replied, returning to the mirror to look over his appearance.

After mopping his mess using the bottom of his foot, he delicately picked up the now dirtied tissue and tossed it into the toilet, flushing it away quickly.

"Oh God I'm never sitting anything on the floor again."

"Stop whining, you know you liked it," replied Riku. "Besides, _I_ hardly got enough pleasure out of it so quit bitching."

Sora held up his hands with a faux-defeated look on his face. "Jeez, _sorry_ Riku. Since when did you become an asshole to me _again_?"

"Ever since 'sexual frustration' became a part of my day-to-day dictionary."

"What world are you in? We've been at it almost _everyday_ since we've got here!"

"Well sometimes people want a little more. Not everyone has a blinding orgasm when they're kissed," he mumbled as he finished washing his hands. Sora placed his hands upon his hips and pouted.

"Now what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what you think it means. You are so much of a newbie I bet you still blush when you have to even say the word 'sex' out loud."

The brunette then puffed up. "I can too say 'sex' without…" He then broke out into a red hot blush at the thought of him and Riku in a range of various stimulating positions. Riku simply laughed and folded his arms triumphantly.

"You see, mentally, you're still a virgin."

"So what? Why does it matter so much to you? _I'm_ not the one that has banged the half of the high school girls last year!"

Riku then pushed the now flustered brunette up against the wall, one hand on his stomach and against the wall to the side of his messy head of hair. Sora blushed even more as his lover looked him over from top to bottom, his eyes lingering at a few key parts.

"The fact that essentially you're still a virgin is what turns me on so much," he said throatily as he pressed his arousal against his lover's inner thigh, making him blush even more. Planting a few careful but needy kisses on his neck, he ran a hand up the smaller boy's sweatshirt, moving his thumb across his nipple.

"Riku… we need to get back! People are going to get worried!" he yelped as he tried to push him away.

As he fought to get Riku away, he saw the bathroom door close and panicked. He gave one final rough shove and straightened himself out.

"What the fuck was that!" yelled Riku, only to get a silencing hand finger placed on his lips. Sora's eyes were still focused on the door.

"Someone was coming in," said Sora before he quickly made his way out of the bathroom quietly.

Looking to the theater entrances, he saw Tidus, walking ever so slowly back to the movie, his face wrapped up in shock as he shook his head disbelievingly.

"Oy, what the hell was _that_ all about? Probably some old balding businessman," grumbled Riku as he scratched the back of his head.

"Tidus saw us."

* * *

"Hey, can I talk to Riku real quickly? It won't take long." Sora looked back at Tidus and then to Riku. Kairi just entangled her fingers with her boyfriend's so she didn't care about his sudden need to talk to him. Selphie sighed and looked at her watch.

"Just hurry up you too, our ride's supposed to be here any minute now," she stated. Tidus flashed her an innocent smile and ushered Riku towards the side of the building. The silver-haired teen waved back to his lover, giving him a reassuring grin.

Once at the other side of the theater, Tidus stopped, looking at the wall ahead of them. Riku just stood there with his hands in his pockets, waiting for his interrogation.

"I know what you are doing Riku," he stated blankly, not looking at him purposely.

"Well what do you _think _I'm doing?"

The blonde sighed and turned around, blue eyes now fiercely locked to his. Riku just gave a defiant glare back. Who did this little shrimp think he was? He didn't have to listen to Ansem anymore so he was now free to kick his ass when he deemed fit. And it wasn't like he was the _strongest_ for his size either.

"I know you are trying to take Sora from Kairi and you need to stop it right now."

Riku just laughed and folded his arms, shifting his weight to the side.

"Oh, so now you know my _big_ secret. What are you going to do if I refuse? Are you gonna spank me?"

The blonde paused for a moment and placed his fist to this chin in contemplation. 'Don't blow a gasket now,' Riku thought with a chuckle as he waited for his answer. Then, Tidus' blue eyes lit up and a clever smirk came across his face.

"I'll tell Kairi what's going on."

Riku's face faltered slightly and then went to a rather cold look. The blonde smirked and folded his arms triumphantly.

"That's right, I'll tell Kairi that you're trying to steal Sora from her and it'll break his heart when she breaks it off with him." He then walked threateningly over to him. "Is it worth it _that_ much? Sora doesn't feel that way for you anyway so why cause them problems?'

Riku grit his teeth. The bastard had pulled out a threat that he didn't really pay much attention for, one that he couldn't really maneuver his way out of. Even worse, it reminded him of what was keeping them apart. Sora still loved Kairi and he wasn't planning on letting her go so soon. That thought stabbed into his heart.

"You're such a damn weasel you know that? And here I thought you were a nice guy," muttered Riku as he stared at the ground, trying to hide his pained expression. Tidus just continued walking back.

"No, I'm a friend and I care."

* * *

The snow fell silently in Nibelheim and Cloud looked out the window. His ghostlike blue eyes were constantly searching the landscape, looking for any sign of him. He was exceedingly worried, Squall had vanished.

After he said that he wouldn't need him anymore, the blonde left him in his room and the next thing he knew, he had disappeared. What was even worse was that all of his belongings were still in his room and the only thing that he seemed to have taken was his wallet.

That was a few weeks ago and now it was Saint's Day and he knew that he should have been coming back soon. After all, Cloud had been talking so much about the dinner he was going to make that he wouldn't disappoint him and miss it.

Walking to the kitchen, he decided to start cooking. First he began to make the appetizers. They had planned to watch a movie while eating them together. He smiled sadly at the thought. It was going to be a good movie.

He finished all of the appetizers and walked back to the window and looked out. Still, there was no sign of him.

"Okay, after I put the main things into the oven, I'll go out and look for him again," he said as he sadly shuffled back into the kitchen. He started up the roast and made the pie and stuck them into the oven. Still he hadn't come back yet.

As he was about to walk outside, he remembered the movie. 'I might as well put it in just incase he might get back and want to watch the extras while he waits.' Placing the DVD into the player, he turned on the TV to the right viewing mode and placed the food on the table.

Grabbing his coat, his keys, wallet, and his cell phone, he walked out of the house and into the cold. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began thinking of where to start. He had been searching around for so long that he was starting to grow tired of his town. It was a small cozy little town but the kind that people would have their charming little winter cottages in, not to live in permanently.

Walking to the well, he stood there, looking into the water. Where had he gone to? And why hadn't he even said goodbye to him, or wrote a letter, or something? He was now outside, on Saint's Day, in the bitter cold, looking around for the man who was desperately in love with him. If only he hadn't told him, he wouldn't have rejected him as coldly as he had and he wouldn't have disappeared.

"At least he hadn't killed himself," he said with a bitter chuckle as he brushed the snow out of his hair. In the reflection, he looked miserable. His eyes looked so worn and dull from his restless sleep and constant worrying that he looked like a man in his forties instead of a twenty-one-year-old. Also, his hair was a greasy mess from not having washed it well in a week and a half and his skin was pale and gray.

"Maybe I should have eaten," he thought as he felt his stomach rumble for the millionth time that day. He sighed as he thought about it. He really hadn't been eating at all since then unless eating a few slices of bread for the span of three weeks counted for something.

Looking away from his death-like reflection, he shuffled into the inn. Inside was the innkeeper looking over some of the ledgers for mistakes. Walking up to the counter, he waited for his attention.

"Excuse me but I'm looking for someone."

The man looked up and his face washed over in recognition.

"He's not here," he grumbled and went back to his books.

"Are you sure? He is taller than me, brown hair, gray-blue eyes, and…"

"I _know_ who you're looking for! You've been here everyday for the past three weeks and every damn day I give you the same answer!"

Cloud gave a wavering glare and stormed off, slamming the door behind him. 'There has to be other places to look. He _has _to be here, I know he's here,' he thought as he began his daily search rounds.

Each person he asked gave him irritated replies and some even kicked him out, telling him to never come back again. Each time that they said no, he felt his hope dwindling. He knew he had to find him but what if he had run away? What if he had actually left him? For good?

The blonde fell to his knees in the field and looked at his gloved hands. He couldn't keep looking for him like he was. There was no other option but to wait for him. But inside of his heart he knew that Squall wouldn't be coming back. Hugging himself, he laid in the icy snow and cried bitterly for being the stubborn idiot that he was.

When he finally reached the house, he finished dinner and set it out on the table with his presents for him, waiting for him to come through the door and apologize for being so late with a present in hand. But the movie wasn't watched, the food wasn't eaten, the presents weren't opened, and the bed wasn't used as Cloud rested against the windowsill, falling asleep late that Saint's Day night.

* * *

A/N: That was sooooo freaking sad! I got depressed just typing it out. Well, Cloud and Leon's relationship is now to hell in a hand basket. But they can't get together so easily. But I have so many deleted scenes and alternate scenes for them and many more people in this and other chapters. Maybe at some time I'll release them all out. Well, this chapter was filled with plot, angst, and new people. And this is all supposed to be their holiday too huh?

Well, I also introduced two new and key characters in the story. They will be very interesting in riling up everyone in Besaid. They are going to be fun! Soon I'll post my sketches of them. They're pretty hot for twins.

I have a small request from you, I need you to answer a small quiz. Please vote on your favorite secondary character interaction. **This is not meaning for romatic relationships, only for extra scenes about their friendship, hate of each other, or parental roles in each other's lives. **The winner of the interactions will have a special extra scene posted at the end of the next chapter! Well, here are your choices:

Sora/ Kairi Kairi/Selphie Riku/Sephiroth Riku/Ansem Tidus/Ansem Cloud/Mother

Seymour/Leon Riku/Vincent Sora/Tidus Leon/Father

Please vote! I would really appreciate it! And review!


	6. Phase 05: Meet Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do. Heck, I don't even own the song 'Hold Me' by Savage Garden. I do however own this plot and my original characters.

A/N: I really don't know how this chapter is going to come out. But I know that it is gonna be intense because it has only been accelerating in the last couple of chapters. But one thing I know is that this one will be more centered on Riku and Sora. There will be a hint of Leon and Cloud but that will only be a small hint. Hehe, I guess I really _do_ know what is gonna be in this chapter. Well, I think that this one will be pretty good. A big twist in the story but still pretty good! Enjoy you all!

P.S. Please do me a favor and re-vote for what side scene you want. I think I made it a bit confusing for you all. It was supposed to be something like if you want to see more about Leon's history with his father or if you want to see how Tidus and Ansem grew up together (little detail in the story), or even if you just want to see a scene of Kairi and Selphie hanging out and having fun. It's not a romantic pairing, cause if it was, then the Leon and Father story would have been eerily creepy. shudders Well, please just say it when you review. And **_none _**of these will be remotely romantic unless stated. Heck, I'll just put their relationships next to them. Here are the choices.

**Sora/Kairi** (dating/_could_ be romantic)

**Kairi/Selphie** (best friends)

**Riku/Sephiroth** (cousins)

**Riku/Ansem** (somewhat friends/tolerate each other)

**Tidus/Ansem** (only _stand_ each other, used to be friends)

**Cloud/Mother** (stated)

**Seymour/Leon** (hate each other)

**Riku/Vincent** (close friends/_could_ hint at something more… I guess)

**Sora/Tidus** (best friends)

**Leon/Father** (stated)

And now for your reviews:

**I'm sorry you guys but because of new rules and regulations for I can't answer your reviews on the story. Sorry about that, but that's how things are getting done here now. Well, I'll still try to address them in my Author Note but that will be as far as I can. Next chapter I'll answer the reviews from last chapter and this one. Now I'm way too tired to answer all of them. But keep reviewing! It makes this story so much better. Thanks and sorry!**

* * *

Phase 05: Meet Me

* * *

"I guess he's really gone," sighed Cloud despairingly as he looked at the note on his friend's bedroom door.

'_I'm sorry that I can't stay with you but I can't possibly do so knowing the feelings I have for you will only make life harder on you. I wish you nothing but happiness and who knows, maybe you might start smiling again.'_

_Love,_

_Leon Lionharte_

Crumpling up the note, he tore open the door. Everything inside was inconsolably empty. Mostly everything was left except the few personal possessions that he had originally came with. Opening the dresser, he noticed that even a large bulk of clothing was left there, even the black sweater he had bought him for his birthday was still in the closet, next to the other clothes that he had bought with him.

Collapsing on the neatly made bed, he looked over the letter and knitted his brows. "The stupid bastard even used his fake name on this too," he muttered, tossing it into the trash can. "And here I thought I meant a lot more than that."

Standing up, he was about to walk away until something that Squall had left caught his eye. Approaching it disbelievingly, he stood in front of the dresser. Picking up the small black picture frame, he looked over the picture inside, its edges showing the folds and wear of age and love.

Cloud smiled and traced a finger over the image of the two when they were younger. The blonde was wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of thin, loose, and black workout pants, his arm draped over the stoic brunette next to him. Even though he tried not to show emotion, the blonde could make out the hint of a smile across his friend's lips, a soft affectionate glow in his icy eyes.

"_Hey Squall!" said the blonde cheerily as he jogged up to his friend. Squall looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow, obviously wanting to get his homework done before the last class was called to an end. Somehow, the brunette always arranged his classes so that he could spend the last hour waiting for Cloud to finish his dance period. But the blonde never really thought much of it._

"_What do you want?" he asked, obviously annoyed._

"_Well, I wanted you to watch me. I keep messing up on my last moves and I thought that maybe **you** might be able to help me," he asked, feeling a soft blush rise onto his cheeks. 'Come on Cloud! You can't act all gay towards him, he doesn't like me like that remember?'_

_Squall shrugged. "I don't know a thing about dancing and all of that stuff. Maybe you should go ask Aeris about it."_

_Cloud's face fell and he slumped his shoulders. He had really wanted Squall to watch him, ignoring the fact that he **did** need to fix up his routine anyway._

"_But Aeris and I used to go out remember? It's way too awkward and besides, she's not as shrewd as you are anyway."_

"_So you're calling her a ditz?"_

"_Come on Squall!" he whined, his unearthly blue eyes glaring. "You're always just sitting on your ass and you don't even **think** about helping me."_

_The taller teen held up his hands in defeat. "Wow, that was a serious mood swing there. On the rag so soon?" he asked jokingly, a slight grin across his face. Cloud quickly straightened himself and tried to fight a flustered blush on his face._

"_I have only two more weeks to perfect this dance or I'm out of the performance! Are you going to help me or not?" he said with a huff as he placed his hands on his hips. Giving a defeated sigh, Squall ran a hand through his short brown hair._

"_Fine. Do your prissy little dance and be quick about it," muttered the brunette as he then folded his arms._

"_Forget it."_

"_What?"_

"_I said forget it!" he yelled, blushing shamefully. His friend eyed him over and raised an eyebrow._

"_What do you mean? I said I was going to do it. That's what you wanted right?" Squall then neared closer to him, making the blonde even more nervous than he already was._

'_This was all a stupid idea,' he thought as he tried to pull on a pleasant smile. Luckily it worked and he gave an empty chuckle._

"_Don't worry about it Squall. I need to go and ask Aeris about it anyway, she's in it after all." Quickly darting away from the taller teen, he walked across the dance room floor to where the girls were practicing. This was all a stupid mistake. If he hadn't left right then and there, Squall might have known his feelings for him and he didn't want to lose his friendship._

_Ever since they started their awkward friendship he had encountered nothing but skepticism from the brunette, constantly making comments about how effeminate he was and how gay he acted. Looking over himself, he couldn't find a single flamboyant bone in his whole body. Sure, he **was **a dancer but it was modern dance and that was a respectable occupation enough. Just because his mother made him go through etiquette classes and learn perfect posture and manners, it didn't mean that he was batting for the other team. _

_Sadly enough though, he **was **falling for Squall and there was nothing that he could really do about that. Each day was more painful than the next. He wanted to tell his friend his true feelings and be loved by him in that same way that he felt but he knew that it wouldn't happen with the way things were going so far. _

_The blonde sighed. 'All he sees me as is some kind of gay fruit who can't even finish my dance correctly. It sucks loving a homophobe,' he thought as he paused in front of the girls' group._

"_Oh, hi Cloud! Are you ready to practice?" asked the green-eyed girl as she continued her warm-up stretches. A year ago, Aeris used to be his girlfriend and they were pretty much into each other. However, as the months went by, Cloud began to distance himself from her and she began to grow independently as well. Overall, in his mind at least, it wasn't going to be anything lasting._

_He sighed and shifted his weight to the side. "Yeah. I have most of it down. I just can't get through the final part of the routine. I suck," he grumbled. Aeris just shook her head and grinned._

"_You are a really good dancer Cloud! You always are so pessimistic that's all. It's probably the reason that you aren't doing as well as I know you would."_

"_Yeah Cloud! You're awesome!" chimed in Jesse, giving him a thumbs up. He never really knew why the red-head was a dancer. He always thought she was a lot better in science and those types of things. Not saying that she was butch or anything but the girl wasn't as **feminine** as the others in the class._

"_By the way Cloud, where's Leon?"_

_The blonde shrugged and folded his arms. "I don't know, probably still at the stage doing his homework. He was kind of mean to me today."_

"_Well, I wanted to take a picture of the two of you. I looked at my wall and I realized I had a picture of everyone but you two together," said Aeris as she pulled out her infamous camera. Her passion, other than the Gardening Club and Cetra religion was to take pictures of everything. If a person ever breathed on the campus, she had taken pictures of them at least three times._

"_He's not going to come over here. He's already upset with me anyway or something like that," Cloud sighed, not really knowing what he was saying. In truth, he knew that Squall wasn't upset at him whatsoever. The brunette was just a hard person to get to know and he put up his shell very well._

"_Um… I think he decided to come anyway," whispered Jesse as she pointed a finger behind Cloud. Sure enough, as the blonde turned around, the man in question was walking over their way, a slight look of guilt upon his otherwise stoic face._

"_Hey Cloud," he began, his voice apologetic. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that. It's just that I wasn't having the best of days today. I got stuck in the atonement room again cause the teacher was being a bitch."_

_The blonde fought back a blush. "It's alright Squall. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," he said as he focused his eyes on one of the buttons on his friend's shirt. Hilariously enough, it was actually buttoned this time._

"_No, I still shouldn't yell at you, it's not right," the brunette rebutted, causing the girls to laugh._

"_Jeez you two," said Jesse as she placed her hands on her hips. "You act like a married couple, I swear!"_

_At this comment, Cloud reddened and glared at the two girls. During that time, he missed the faint blush that rose on Squall's cheeks._

"_We are no such thing!"_

"_Love is in the air!" sang Aeris as Jesse began laughing hysterically._

Looking back on those times, he smiled sadly. He never realized until now that Aeris had taken that picture for Leon. The girl never really cared about taking another picture after that and normally she would have.

The whole realization had hit him all over again. Squall was in love with him, truly in love. That was the whole reason why he stayed with him for so long, the reason why he helped out and met him after work everyday and tried to protect him from the constant and annoying admirers and the people who just wanted to harass him. He did all of that because he had loved him.

But if he did so, why did he keep sending out the signals that he was opposed to them having any type of relationship whatsoever? And why did he act so cold towards him when he was asking for his affection? If Squall had loved him so much, why did he keep pushing himself away from him when Cloud wanted his love, when he needed him to tell him how much he meant to him and how much he truly mattered in his life.

"You're such an idiot," Cloud muttered as he sniffed back a few tears. His whole high school years, he had felt lonely and ignored, rejected, and even unworthy of any remote kind of real emotion. Even with Aeris, he always had the thought that maybe she wasn't really seeing him but rather someone else that she saw _in_ him. But when Leon came, he became even more confused. One day, the brunette would make him feel like the happiest person in the world and other days he felt as if no one would care if he just disappeared. That whole time when he had been wracked with emotions and feelings that he thought were wrong and impure, Squall had been holding inside his own secrets?

Filling up in frustration, he threw the picture frame against the wall, watching it bounce off with a loud crash and then slinking behind the wastebasket in a broken and shard filled mess. That's how his relationship was. Squall was the only thing that kept him together, the one that he knew would always pick him up and care for him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Cloud then fell back onto the bed, trying to hold back his tears. It had been so long since he had cried. With Squall there, he never had a reason to _really_ cry. The most he would do was shed a few tears if something really moved him to do so but he hadn't really cried from the inside since his mother had died.

* * *

Riku and his group were all sitting in the grass in the quad, watching Rikku dance around, singing loudly and enthusiastically. It was mid day break and everyone was just so tired from their classes that they didn't care how off key the blonde was.

"Hey Riku!" called Sora as he walked over towards their group. The silver-haired teen raised his head from its spot in Vincent's lap and squinted his eyes. Seeing the small patch of brown hair approaching him, he grinned and sat up, running his fingers through his slightly matted hair.

"Hey Sora." Sitting down, the brunette looked at the dancing blonde and raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with her? You all are practically dead but she's acting as if she needs Ritalin," mumbled Sora as he placed his messenger bag on his lap.

"Oh. Well, she's just excited about Yuna visiting in a month."

Sora blinked at this. "Wait, you mean _Yuna _Yuna? The famous singer and model Yuna?"

The blonde stopped her dancing and pulled a side of the thick black headphones from her ear.

"You talking about Yunie?" she giggled, still bouncing from side to side. Riku groaned in annoyance and shoved his hand into his face.

"Here we go again…" he mumbled. Sora blinked at this and suddenly felt guilty.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong whatsoever!" cheered Rikku with a grin, throwing the Mp3 player to the grass. "Yunie is supposed to come to play here for a surprise concert! She's from here after all!"

"Supposedly Shuyin is going to be here during that time with the Zanarkand Abes to visit or some shit like that," grumbled the silver-haired jock next to him. Sora just laughed as he crossed his legs for a better sitting position.

"Well, you seem so excited for it. But I remember Tidus saying something about that. He is so thrilled about it that he's counting down the days," remarked Sora.

The blonde jock had always looked up to the Zanarkand Abes since he was little. Even though he hated his father, he enjoyed going to his practices and watching the players crash into each other and move the ball back and forth until they hit their goal. Tidus' father Jecht was a world-famous blitzball player and said to be the best so far. It was only natural that the blonde would follow in his father's footsteps.

Rikku placed her hands on her hips and frowned. "I hate that jerk Shuyin. All he cares about is stupid Lenne and not Yunie's feelings whatsoever. If it wasn't for Yunie, he wouldn't have been able to meet her in the first place."

"Shut up Rikku. It's Yuna's own fault that she keeps following him around like some kind of sick dog." Hearing Vincent's groggy voice made everyone jump. They all had thought that he was asleep and to hear him suddenly was a bit of a scare.

"God damn it Vince, you gotta stop scaring the shit out of me! It's so fucking annoying when you do that," growled Riku as glared back at the man laying behind him.

"Yeah! You are such an asshole Vincent! I swear you're some kind of zombie or something," said Rikku.

"More of a vampire I'd say," chimed in Sora with a chuckle. The remark made Riku laugh as well. After stretching the length of his body with a yawn, the ebony haired teen turned to his side and propped his head up on his hand, scratching his stomach lazily.

"Whatever. All I know is that I'm tired of you talking about your damn cousin. That's all I hear. 'Wah-wah-wah-Yuna! Wah-wah-wah-Shuyin!' It gives me a damn headache," mumbled Vincent as he rolled over to his stomach and buried his face into his arms.

Rikku flushed red and glared at the sleeping 'vampire.' Stomping over to the sleeping figure, she placed a sandaled foot onto his head and proceeded to shove his face into the grass.

"That's what you get you asshole! Eat dirt!"

Deciding to ignore the fight, Riku turned to Sora, rubbing the back of his pounding head. He was still trying to recover from the loud party at Rikku's house and the random moshing that they did. 'Note to self, never mosh when in a living room, no matter how large it might seem or how much fun it is during it.'

"So how are _you_ babe?" asked Riku seductively as he scooted over towards the brunette. His lover held his hands up and shook his head.

"Don't Riku, someone can see us and tell Kairi. Or even worse, they can tell Tidus," he pleaded, earning a frustrated groan from the jock.

"You know what, that damn blonde is nothing but a pain in my ass. So what if he squeals to Kairi. She probably won't believe the little bastard anyway," growled Riku in frustration. "I haven't fucked in weeks and I swear I'm gonna kill _someone_."

Sora raised an eyebrow at this, ignoring Rikku running down the quad screaming with a severely pissed off Vincent in toe. When Riku told him what Tidus had said those weeks ago, Sora decided to stop seeing him, feeling it best for the three of them if he just quit cheating on her and staying faithful, at least physically. But he never knew how sex-driven Riku was until recently. At first, he just agreed and seemed a bit moody off and on but in the end was pretty docile. Now, he was so sexually frustrated that he was starting to get nervous at being in dark areas alone with him.

"Come on Riku, why don't you go after someone else? You and Vincent seem to be getting along pretty well," the brunette suggested, earning a cruel chuckle from his lover.

"You have to be kidding. Sure, Vincent is good-looking and all but he's not into guys, at least the last time _I_ checked. And besides, he likes the older women anyway _and_ he's my roommate so it would be awkward if we ever broke up," replied the jock.

'Wow, I guess he was considering it before. Is that a good thing?' Sora thought. Standing up, he brushed himself off and picked up his black messenger back, pulling the strap over his head to rest on his opposite shoulder.

"Well, I better get back to the science building, my class starts in half an hour and I wanted to meet up with Tidus," said Sora as he got up as well, shrugging his side bag onto his shoulder.

"Whatever," muttered the silver-haired teen as he walked off, leaving a confused Sora behind.

* * *

"Hey Sora! Over here!" called an excited Tidus as he swung his arm from side to side. Sora raised an eyebrow. The guy seemed way too energetic today to see him and he knew that something was up.

"What are you so excited about? It's our chem. lab after all."

With a grin, the blonde pointed his thumb into the classroom. Sora looked in but found nothing out of the ordinary. At least there weren't any exceptional women transferred into the class today so that wasn't the issue.

"I just see the professor, some lab stuff and the people that we normally see everyday," the brunette muttered, shrugging his messenger bag to a more comfortable position.

"There's a new student today you silly boy!" said Tidus with a grin and smacked Sora on the back roughly.

"Okay, where the fuck did 'silly boy' come from? Don't tell me you're coming out _now_?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm as straight as a fox. It's just that I _always_ get excited when there are new people," the blonde continued, shoving his hands casually into the pockets of his tan shorts.

"I don't think that was the correct usage for the saying," said Sora as he rolled his eyes and made his way into the lab room. His friend trailed after him, sending a death glare to the back of his spiky head.

"You're not _listening_ to me! It doesn't matter anyway, you get the point."

Sora simply sighed and placed his bag onto an empty seat and began to look over the directions that had been laid out. Tidus was too busy running off and socializing with another student to actually try to pre-read the lab.

'The lazy asshole,' he thought as he circled key steps that he needed to remember to check for. 'All he does in this class is just daydream and then ask me to fill him in on what we did. I can't keep covering up for him forever.'

Life with the blonde since the movie incident had been anything but blue skies and sunshine. Every time he would talk to Riku or even been in the same area as him, Tidus would get on the defensive. Because of that, the only times that he had been able to see his lover was shortly before this class and when they both had classes in the same building. Other than that, he was prohibited from seeing Riku again.

Riku however had taken it really hard. With not being able to see him for long periods of time, they haven't been able to have sex either. Sora didn't really care and even _enjoyed_ the freedom of not being attacked all of the time. But the longer their separation has been, the more frustrated Riku had become. He really wanted to just throw all caution to the wind by letting Riku have him in the middle of the quad. Hell, if he let him, the jock probably _would_ have done so. But he knew that he didn't want to hurt Kairi.

Deep down, though he knew he was deeply in love with Riku, he still had feelings for his girlfriend. After all, she had stayed faithful to him while she was in her first year in high school while he screwed around with his mortal enemy. Even though he was treating her like dirt, she still stayed with him and didn't let rumors or anything else change her mind.

"Hey."

Sora blinked and looked up into deep green-blue eyes.

"Riku?" he thought out loud. The boy's pink lips turned up into a grin.

"Oh no, I'm not Riku. My name is Zenith, Zenith Urd."

Looking over the guy, Sora realized he must have been the new student. His style still hadn't changed to the local fashion, wearing a pair of loose pinstripe black trouser pants and a short sleeved button up shirt with a thin black long-sleeved shirt underneath. Two intertwined black jelly bracelets were on his right arm that seemed to have been there for a long time.

His bright blond hair was unruly but not to the same extent as the brunette's. Instead, it was simply silky and cut short with his bangs choppily brushing over his face and hanging to his chin at the sides.

Zenith raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to gawk all day at me or what? I need a partner and if you're incapable I can find someone else."

Sora blinked and blushed at his comment. He hadn't realized that he had been staring at him, it was a bit embarrassing.

"Sorry. You can join our group. It's just me and Tidus and besides, it's not like he actually does crap anyway," said the brunette with an embarrassed chuckle. He really wasn't good at meeting new people and he felt a bit awkward.

Luckily, the teen simply shrugged and set his sidebag to the side.

"So what are we working on?" he asked casually, leaning on the counter on his elbow. Sora blushed as he tried to remember what he had read. Everything that he had spent his time in absorbing had suddenly rushed out of his brain as he listened to the new blonde's soothing and intellectual voice.

'Come on, Sora,' he thought as he tried to look over the lab sheet again. 'Zenith _is really_ attractive but you're with Kairi remember? And if there is anyone after that on your list, it definitely should be Riku.' Looking over at the quite blonde, he watched him as he looked over the directions over his shoulder, seeming as if to understand it all completely.

As he watched him, a pair of green-blue eyes looked back up again, this time with irritation.

"I honestly don't care if you're attracted to me but just stop staring, it's very annoying," said Zenith, making Sora blush in embarrassment and focus on the lab, trying not to show how flustered he was from that.

* * *

Cloud lingered at a single table as he placed each plate one at a time into a stack to carry back to be washed. It was half an hour until his shift was over and Squall was still nowhere to be found.

'I guess this isn't too bad. At least I don't have to worry about him and Clay fighting again,' he thought with a sigh as he picked up all of the plates and took them to the kitchen.

"Cheer up Cloud, you don't look too good," said one of the cooks as he walked past him. Cloud put on a depressing smile.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just tired that's all. I have been spending too much time watching late night horror movies."

That was a lie. He really hated horror movies, especially when it was at night. The things just were too disgusting to watch with people being dismembered and disemboweled by monsters and spirits. He always wondered how Squall could watch that kind of stuff so freely.

Remembering Squall, his face became even grimmer.

"It's because of that asshole Squall isn't it?" asked Clay, his bright orange hair now tied back in a new style. Cloud just shook his head and checked his watch. 'Twenty minutes until closing. I guess I can just hang back here for now. It's so empty tonight anyway.'

"His name is Leon and it isn't his fault," said the blonde as he walked over to the side of the kitchen where the lockers were. The other waiter, Caska was in the middle of changing out of his uniform and into his regular clothes.

Clay pouted and put his hands onto his hips, cocking his head to the side flamboyantly. "I know what it is, _Leon's_ abusing you. That's it entirely!"

Caska simply shook his head and laughed. "Leon? Abusing _Cloud_? I can see him knocking _your_ annoying ass out _again_ but he's not a person who would ever lay a hand on Cloud," he said as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Well you're wrong about that," muttered the blonde as he remembered the burning feeling on his wrist. It didn't hurt now but he could still remember how much it ached after that. Caska's brown eyes widened.

"He actually hit you? What kind of a world are _we_ getting into. First it's annoying orange-haired fags and now _this_?"

"Hey! I resent that remark! _You're_ just jealous 'cause I don't want you."

"Oh yeah pixie, I even cum in my shorts every night thinking of you," joked the raven haired man as he pulled a comb through his choppy chin length hair, brushing it back behind his ears.

Ever since Cloud had started working there, Caska had helped him out. He was one of the longest working employees in the restaurant, other than the Paul head cook and Clara the cashier. His uncle was the owner and he had been successfully working tables for nine years since he was sixteen, one year after it had opened.

"But Leon _actually_ hit you? Are you okay?" asked his senior.

"Yeah, he just twisted my arm a little. I'm just worried because since then he hasn't come back home or anything," said Cloud sadly as he sat down and looked at his hands hopelessly.

"Well, maybe he shouldn't come back."

"Clay!" scolded Caska.

"Well it's true! I'm not going to be all silent and moping all day about something that can't be changed! When Leon decides he's ready to come back home, he'll come back. I know he's too gaga over you to just walk away because of some stupid argument," said the orange-haired teen as he folded his arms with an annoyed pout.

The chocolate-eyed waiter looked up to him in awe, now fully dressed.

"Wow. I have to say that that was the most mature thing I've heard you say the whole time you were here. I'm impressed!" said Caska as he pat the shorter male in the shoulders. The younger waiter only glared back at him, his choppy orange bangs brushing over his eyelashes.

"Shut up you big asshole! I'm being serious here!"

"For once," chuckled the blonde as he leaned his head back against the wall, starting to forget his problems.

* * *

"Hey! Get that!"

Tidus ran over to the side of the grass and jumped into the air, barely preventing the ball from reaching the opponent. They were practicing on land for blitzball for an hour before they were to go in and do their laps. It was only in practice that Riku was able to be around Sora without the opposition of the noisy beach boy.

Putting his hands on his hips, Riku calmed down his panting and collected himself. The practice was a lot more fierce than normal and he actually had to exert himself to keep his team in the lead.

He felt a pair of sly aqua eyes peer at him from the side of the field, a smirk across his devilish lips.

"Oi Riku! Tired already?" called the bastard, cocking his head to the side arrogantly.

"Fuck you, I'm fine. I'm not used to sloppy play so it's a bit tiresome." The other teen simply narrowed his eyes and went into position. Riku simply grinned and stretched out his arms, calling for the goalie to throw out the ball.

Sadly enough, Sora was late to practice because he had to run back to his class to get his notebook. He was way too forgetful for Riku's taste but he still loved him nonetheless.

Catching the ball, he ran to the side and threw it over to Tidus who caught it perfectly. The jock made a quick look over to the side of the field but there was still no sight of the brunette.

"Hey, you're even cuter when you're distracted," said the cocky aqua-eyed blonde behind him, catching him into an arm hold. Riku glared at the ground, wishing that he could have avoided the maneuver in general.

"Why are you so interested in me anyway? There are plenty of other guys who would actually _enjoy _being harassed by you," said the jock with an annoyed sigh. 'Why isn't homophobe Tidus here when I need him? The bastard is useless!'

The blonde behind him pressed his body suggestively closer against his back, clearly enjoying the feel of it. Riku struggled in his hold.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Why are you so fidgety? You're taking all of the fun out of this. Besides, no one's watching."

Riku then grinned. With a quick move, he threw the blonde over his shoulders, making him land flat on his back on the grass.

"You're right Zen, this was actually a load of fun," he said, grinning triumphantly down at him. The blonde simply laughed, ignoring the fact that there was practice at that time.

"I sense a challenge."

Riku just raised his eyebrows and jogged over to the action. The cocky bastard had been messing with him for two days straight since he first started. At first, it _did_ boost up his ego a bit and since he didn't have Sora anymore, he _did _flirt back a little. But then it started to enter the realm of annoying as he felt himself in a dominance struggle with him. The guy was great in blitzball and it didn't help that he was also very pushy, rallying the team around _him_ rather than trying to help everyone improve.

"Riku!" called Wakka as he threw the ball over his way. Reaching out to the side, he caught the ball and was about to hurl it into the goal but he was unfortunately tackled swiftly by Zen, catching him off guard.

"Holy shit! Riku got slammed!" called out Tidus as he jogged over towards his slightly shocked form. What the hell was happening? He really needed to focus.

'Damn it, I'm starting to daydream,' thought the jock as he sat up, rubbing his throbbing head. Sure he had been tackled plenty of times before, it was a rough sport after all, but this time, he saw stars. His back still throbbed from where it collided with the thankfully grassy field. If they were on concrete, he wasn't sure he would be able to get up so easily.

"Dude, are you alright?" Seeing who it was, he groaned in frustration. Of all of the times that the brunette could show up, it was the time when he fell on his ass.

"I'm fucking fine. Let's just get this over with," muttered an even more frustrated Riku. Standing up wobbly, he glared at the confused look on Zen's face. "What the fuck are _you_ looking at?"

The blonde simply laughed and patted him gently on the back. "I just didn't think that you would go down _that_ hard. After all, you are supposed to be one of the team's key players right?"

"Oh come on newbie. You've never really seen him play so don't start now."

Riku just rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to hold back the urge to punch the guy in the face.

"Wait, I didn't know that you played blitzball Zenith!" said Sora, looking a bit confused. The blonde raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"I'm not Zenith. I'm Zen."

Sora's expression deepened into that of deep and utter bafflement. It made the silver-haired teen snicker at seeing it. 'God, he's so fuckable looking like that. Wait, got to calm down, it's the frustration talking,' thought Riku.

"We're twins, as annoying as _that_ can be," sighed the blonde, following the rest of the team who had decided to go in to change for their laps in the pool.

* * *

Sora sighed as he sat at the side of the pool cross-legged. Everyone was doing their laps and he was supposed to be part of the fifth rotation around. It was a nice thing for him anyway, he was able to watch Riku do his laps. It was always him first since it went by their numbers and his was number three.

Watching him, he felt a sense of longing. Whenever Riku did anything in this sport, whether it was practice or the actual games, he looked gorgeous. His movements were fluid in the water as he moved towards the side of the pool and dove down to twist underwater and kick off the side to swim his way back.

"Nice isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as he eyed Zen suspiciously. What _was_ he talking about?

Sitting down next to him, he stretched out casually and crossed his legs as well.

"You know, Riku. He's always so perfect at everything isn't he? I see the way you watch him," he said, propping his hands behind him. Sora's eyes widened and a faint blush rose on his cheeks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," lied the brunette.

"Oh come on Sora. There's no need to be so secretive about it, I'm sure he feels the same way," said the blonde, leaning over to him.

"I know he does, he knows I do too but I'm kind of already seeing someone so don't talk about this anymore okay?" he replied while looking at his hands. What was this about? Why was he suddenly so interested in his romance with Riku? And even worse, how the hell did he figure out about it so quickly? He knew that he hadn't seen him before until today and it was a bit unsettling that he was so easily readable.

'Wait, no one was supposed to know about Riku and I. Now I just told him the whole thing,' he thought as he eyed the other teen nervously. But Zen didn't seem like a threat or anything so he wouldn't really tell, right? 'I hope not, or Riku and I will be screwed.'

"Don't worry about it," said the blonde as he gave a comforting smile and pat him on the back. "I won't tell a soul, scouts honor you know?" At that, he did a miniature pledge which made a small smile crack on the worried brunette's face.

"I wouldn't tell anyway, even if you hadn't asked me too. You seemed so hurt when I asked you."

The brunette sighed and focused his clear blue eyes to the now vacant pool water, the glow of it shining back to him. "It's true, it all really hurts you know. Strangely enough, Riku used to bully me since _kindergarten_ until the last day of high school."

He smiled as he remembered the many times that the silver-haired boy had stuck gum in his hair or pushed him into the sand or teased him. When Riku was younger, he really was a cute child, and if he really wanted to, he could look like a perfect angel.

"He was always so mean to me, he always made me hate going to school everyday. Our island only had one elementary, middle, and high school so we were stuck in mostly the same classes the whole time with the same people. But that last day of our senior year, he confessed to me that he really had liked me the whole time and it was just so… _odd_."

Scratching his head, he gave out a small chuckle. "In actuality, it seemed like something he would do anyway. Riku has always been the aggressive type, like his cousins, so it's understandable that that would be his way of flirting."

"I don't know if that's what you'd call flirting," said Zen with a raised eyebrow and amused expression. Sora just laughed and placed his hands on his knees.

"Well, if you knew Riku, you'd understand." Then, his face took on a more contemplative expression. "I have to admit, when he told me, I hadn't really felt anything remotely the same towards him. I was still going out with my girlfriend then and I hadn't planned to be in any kind of gay relationship anytime soon. But I don't really know, I just suddenly thought 'Hey! This might be something to try out.' After all, I knew that the worst thing that could happen was that he'd get bored of it and I could just continue on with my life."

"But I didn't really anticipate that I might actually fall in love with him." After saying that, his face then darkened in anger. "And now Tidus knows about it and he's threatening to tell my girlfriend if he keeps seeing me. This whole time, he's blaming Riku but he really should be blaming _me_. I'm the one who's cheating on Kairi and not being serious about either one of them. But Riku just takes it all for me and it really hurts because I really know that he loves me more than I could possibly ever love him."

"But he's just so frustrating that it seems that he doesn't care about my problems and only cares about what he wants. It's like he really doesn't care if I lose Kairi, it's always his way or no way at all!"

Realizing his whole confession, he blushed and chuckled uneasily. He didn't really know that he felt that way. Was that the reason why he had been so calm about the split?

Zen simply smiled reassuringly and stood up, fixing the line of his blue Speedo. Sora never really liked the pool uniform but thank the lord that they wore wetsuits for the actual games. If they didn't then he wouldn't actually be in this sport in the first place. But looking at the blonde, he realized that he actually looked pretty good in it and hid the light blush that began to appear on his face.

"Well, its my turn to go. But don't worry, things will fix themselves. After all, Riku might not be the one you should be waiting for anyway," he said with an almost mischievous grin and walked over to the end of the pool to start.

'What the hell was that?' thought Sora as he looked up to the ceiling, watching the light from the pool twist and dazzle on its surface. He had just spilled everything to this guy and now there was someone _else_ who knew what was going on. Wasn't it supposed to be a secret, their dirty little secret that no one was supposed to know? But Zen had seemed so understanding that it was as if he actually understood him and even _believed_ everything he was saying.

'It isn't like talking to Riku. He only understands me if it would be in _his_ best interest. That is only every now and then at that,' he thought as he glared at the tile underneath him. Riku was always so conditional in his actions and sympathy that it was always a guessing game of when to confide in him with what he was feeling. He _definitely_ knew not to talk to him about his trouble balancing his feelings between him and Kairi. The only answer that he would probably receive was to dump _her_ and stay with _him_.

'Hell, he's probably keeping onto me because the sex is good,' he thought with a pout.

-oOo-

They all did their laps and changed back into their clothes to leave. For some reason, Tidus and Riku had been called back by the coach and Sora was so sore from the extra laps they had to do that he took his time to dress slowly. His mind kept lingering on the conversation with Zen that he had earlier. It was true though, if he just waited it out, something would come up to solve the whole problem.

"Please let something come up," he sighed as he shoved his knee-length faded shorts on.

"Are you okay?" asked Wakka who was just shoving his things back into his locker. Sora blushed in embarrassment. He was talking to himself again and it started getting annoying that people would hear him.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine! Never better!"

"Ookay. Well I'm going ya?" he said as he slung his an arm of his backpack over his shoulder. Sora just grinned and waved.

"Bye bye!"

When he had gone, the brunette sighed and looked back at the mess on the bench right behind him. Everything that was going on with him was distracting him from school and blitzball. That was the reason why he had come right? To play blitzball, get a good education, and date his great girlfriend Kairi right? But with Riku in the equation, everything seemed to get so muddled up.

'Damn bastard is screwing everything up,' he thought as he angrily tugged his belt on.

"Hey Sora!" called the familiar voice of Zen, coming around the corner with his backpack on a shoulder casually. Looking up at his approaching form, Sora smiled and slipped his sandals on.

"Hey Zen, you still here? I thought _I'd_ be the last one here," said the brunette as he pulled his banana yellow t-shirt on, tugging at it to make sure it fit properly. The blonde just laughed and leaned against the locker next to him.

"Are you waiting for Riku? He should be finished soon," suggested Zen as he folded his arms. Sora then took on an angered expression and put the rest of his things away.

"No. He can walk all the way back alone for all I care." This brought an amused grin onto the blonde's face.

"Oh, so you've given up on him _that _easily?" he asked as he dropped his backpack onto a dry spot on the bench. Sora just nodded as he closed his locker with a concentrating expression.

"Yeah, the guy's so sex-driven that if I don't put out he whines like a deprived child," he muttered. Zen just chuckled and moved over towards him.

"Well, in that case."

The next thing he knew, the blonde leaned over and kissed him, slightly pressing him against his locker. 'Wait, what the hell is happening?' he thought as he grabbed onto his arms. Pulling away from him, he glared up at him flusteredly.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, trying to recover from the shock. Zen just smirked seductively as he held up the brunette's chin gently, his aqua eyes burning down at him.

"I kissed you. Do you not like it?"

Sora blushed and looked to the side, feeling slightly frustrated. What the hell was going on? First this guy seems like a totally compassionate person and then he kisses him, totally out of the blue. He hadn't even known him for an entire _day_ yet and he's locking lips with him?

"Do you _want_ me to stop?" asked the blonde as he hovered over his lips, his breath tickling his skin. An electric sensation tingled throughout his slightly smaller body. He hadn't been so close to someone or even intimate with anyone since he and Riku decided to take a break. The feeling was starting to rise up in him again as he felt himself being pressed again into the lockers, their lips not even grazing each other.

"I-I, well… um…" he mumbled, feeling his lips unconsciously brush against his. His grip lessened on the blonde's arms and he leaned his head back against the cool surface of metal behind him. 'Should I just go for it? I mean, I know that I shouldn't really be doing this. Oh God I _really _shouldn't be doing this.'

"Hey Sora, are you ready to go?"

At this, the brunette froze, his grip tightening on the blonde's arms as he pushed him away. Riku simply walked over with his messenger bag over his shoulder, his hands in his pockets. He stopped in front of them and eyed Zen over domineeringly.

"Oh! H-H-Hi Riku, heh heh," fumbled out Sora with an uneasy laugh as he pushed his way away from the blonde and grabbed his bag, shrugging it onto his shoulder. Inside, he was panicked, Riku had just caught him with Zen just as he was about to kiss him back. 'Wait, I wasn't going to kiss him… was I?'

Making his way over towards Riku, he grabbed his arm and pulled him away, trying to prevent the stare down from turning into an actual fist fight. "Let's go Riku! I'm hungry so let's get something to eat, okay?" he asked as he tugged at him roughly towards the door.

Riku just glared his aqua eyes back at the blonde dangerously before he slipped his arm around the brunette's waist protectively. Sora just blushed at this and tried to not let it bother him if it would get the jock to leave with him.

"Sure, _whatever_ you want," said the silver-haired teen, his voice dripping with venom as he roughly tugged him closer. Sora simply winced and let it go. Even though he was taken aback at how he was being manhandled by Riku, he didn't want to invoke anymore of his wrath than he needed to. The last time he did, he ended up with a few broken ribs.

Once they had made it outside, Riku dropped his arm from him. The brunette stopped and looked up at him with concern.

"R-Riku I…"

"Sora, do me a favor and just go away," he muttered pleadingly, glaring at the ground as he walked off, a threatening and icy aura around him.

At this, Sora froze, his eyes holding back tears as he clenched his fists to his sides. All of it was confusing him so much that he could hardly bear it. Sighing, he looked out to the pink and blue sunset with eyes forlorn. 'How the hell did I get myself into this mess?'

* * *

"Kairi, aren't you excited that Yuna is _actually_ going to be performing here for free?" asked Selphie as she and her best friend sat on the couch, watching a Spira Music Network special on the lives of Yuna and Lenne. The redhead smiled sweetly and pulled her knees up, watching the screen flash pictures of the sisters as children.

"Yeah. I just hope that she can just find happiness," she said contemplatively.

"Seriously. I can't believe she is _still_ following that jerk Shuyin. It's obvious that he's in love with Lenne since the beginning and he still keeps leading her on," pouted the brunette as she glared at the picture of a fourteen-year-old Lenne and her childhood friend Shuyin dressed up as a cat and a shark for Halloween.

"But you really can't blame him though," said Kairi, bringing her friend's attention away from the screen.

"What do you mean? He's totally using her to boost his own ego and Lenne should be a good sister and tell him to stop it. They both are messed up if you tell me. Yuna can't help that she's being used because she's in love."

Kairi just giggled and watched the screen show some shots of Lenne hugging a still wet Shuyin excitedly at the stadium hallway after he landed the winning goal for the Zanarkand Abes first championship. The expressions of pure elation on their faces lit up the whole room and they held fiercely onto each other as Shuyin spun her around joyously.

"Well, I don't think so. Sometimes people have a hard time letting go when they see that the person they love has found their perfect match. Yuna's heart just doesn't want to be proven wrong."

Selphie eyed her friend curiously. There were times that Kairi would say things that were way too deep to be just said so lightly.

"Sometimes I just don't understand you Kairi," she said, taking a sip of her soda. The red-head just grinned and giggled.

"Cause I'm just _so_ much smarter than you and you know it."

"I wouldn't say its smarts you little brat…"

Suddenly remembering something, Kairi put a finger to her cheek. "How's you and Tidus you doing anyway? You both seem to be around each other so much lately," asked the redhead, making her friend blush hotly.

"Well what about him?" asked Selphie defensively. No matter how much the brunette could possibly defend herself, it was a pretty know fact that Selphie and Tidus were a pretty set item.

"We all can tell that you like each other. Why don't you ask him out?"

"You know I don't do that! Come on Kairi guys ask _me _out, not the other way around," said the brunette with a blush as she turned the TV to the fashion channel. Kairi just grinned and laid her head back into the sofa.

"Well, you need to at least put yourself out there you know? Ask him if he's going to the concert. If he really likes you, he'll ask you to go."

"I don't know," replied Selphie, swinging her legs over to rest on the coffee table. "For a cute guy, he's kind of dense. He'll never get it."

"Well you _did _ask for a blonde though," giggled Kairi, smacking her friend playfully in the back.

"So anyway, how are you and Sora doing anyway. I never see him with you that much and he's almost always tagging around Riku like they are some kind of childhood friends," said the brunette with a suspicious look.

"Oh, I don't know. But you shouldn't be surprised about it, _we_ used to be mortal enemies remember? They're probably just doing some big boy bonding, it's good for Sora," replied the redhead as she looked at her hands with a smile. However, it was more of a self-assuring one than for Selphie.

Nowadays, Kairi really didn't know what was going on with her boyfriend. At first he seemed to be spending time with her all of the time, or at least trying too. Now, however, since he and Riku became close friends, she started to see their relationship drift apart and it seemed like Riku was swallowing him up for himself.

But just yesterday, Sora seemed utterly depressed and angry about something that she knew that she couldn't help. But she knew it had to be about Riku. When Selphie jokingly brought him up, Sora seemed to be so upset about something that had gone on between them that he was practically screaming at her about something incoherent before he stormed off, obviously trying to hold back frustrated tears.

"I don't know Kairi. I think something happened between him and Riku. I mean, they were like even closer than him and Tidus and suddenly they just fell apart. And now Sora's hanging out with this Zen guy, you know, Zenith's brother, and I think _he_ might be the reason."

Kairi sighed and pulled on another smile, this one more convincing. "Just don't worry about him okay? Whatever he does I know he'll be perfectly fine." However she knew that something was fishy thought and whatever it was would take Sora from her in one way or another.

* * *

Riku sighed in boredom for the fifteenth time as he sat cross-legged, an array of blood red roses placed in his hair and gathered in his lap. Currently, he was posing for another one of Vincent's artworks which was going to be another praised masterpiece to hang in the school gallery. However, this time, he was actually going to get the artwork unlike the other times he posed fruitlessly.

It was going to be pretty cool looking with his eyes smothered in black eyeliner and charcoal eyeshadow, making his aqua eyes glow almost ethereally. The only thing he wore was a deep black pair of jeans that the 'artist' bestowed upon him and velvet black ribbon that was wrapped repetitively around his neck, hanging a small silver cross onto his collarbone.

His eyes were looking to the side dejectedly to make it look more 'meaningful' as Vincent said. Either way, he knew that he wanted this artwork badly.

"It's always so hard to make your eye color. I think I'm running out of neon green," mumbled Vincent as he eyed the rest of his paint. Deciding on trying to use neon yellow, he squeezed out a little into the palette and mixed it in with the palette knife.

"Sorry, it's genetic. Blame my grandmother about it," the model replied as he focused on the old Disturbed CD that Vincent had put on. The more that he had been living with him the more he had been assimilating into his tastes. Before, he had been listening to things like My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte and other emo/punk bands but now he was listening to harder things.

'Man, I can't believe I liked My Chemical Romance,' he thought with a withheld chuckle as he remembered the now seemingly dull and unnecessarily angsty music. 'But I can't really say that Disturbed, Papa Roach, or System of a Down don't have their own share of angst either. But I guess they don't try as hard. Now I'm really bored, I'm critiquing music on angst.'

"I'll be done in fifteen minutes so just relax okay. You're making it look more tense than what I want," sighed Vincent as he looked over his painting. With a deep breath, Riku closed his eyes and opened them again, visibly relaxing himself.

"Let's talk or something. It'll make the time go faster."

"Sure, whatever," mumbled a still agitated Riku. The bastard could be so stoic while he was suffering for another fifteen minutes. He had already been in his position for an hour. 'Don't models get breaks?'

"Well, let's talk about you and Sora. You've been bottling it up for so long it's getting kind of annoying," started the raven-haired teen as he started painting the thin silver layers of his hair.

Riku's eyes suddenly filled up in sadness. He had been openly avoiding him for the past few weeks since he saw him with Zen in the locker room. It had gone to the point that he had refused to be on the same team as the brunette for practice.

"_Riku! Hey! I'm talking to you you know!" yelled Sora as he roughly grabbed his arm. Everyone else in the locker room was now watching the scene. Riku just sighed and tugged his arm away, trying to walk away. He could see the Tidus watching concernedly but with a trace of satisfaction in his expression, as if he was trying to hide his happiness that his plan was succeeding._

_However it was another blonde's stare that really angered him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Zen leaning in a satisfied manner against his locker, a fox-like grin of victory spread across his face. The bastard knew that he was cornered. If he apologized and tried to restore his relationship with Sora, Tidus would make it a living hell for them. But if he kept his cold exterior, it was making it so much easier for him to take Sora for himself and thus win in that respect._

"_Sora, don't do this…" gritted Riku as he tried to walk away, trying to save both of their dignities. However, Sora was always bad at understanding what is a good time for a talk and a personal one at that._

"_No! **You** don't do this! All this time you have been avoiding me and now you think you can get away with it? Why are you being such a bastard all of a sudden! I said I was sorry! I wasn't really-"_

"_Just shut up!"_

_Sora stopped his fussing and stood back, his eyes wide in shock. He had never really yelled at him in the many years of them knowing each other mainly because he never had a reason to. But seeing the way the conversation was going, he needed to stop it or the little prick would end up outing them both and handing it all to Tidus on a silver platter. Plus it would be a bit annoying to have some of the more phobic guys trying to move lockers away from him though he wouldn't be **that** opposed to having the free space._

_Looking around, he saw that everyone was still staring, probably hoping for some kind of fight to break out. Tidus just kept a constant glare at him and out of the corner of his eye he could see Zen tremble in a quiet chuckle, the smug bastard was enjoying it._

_The brunette looked back at him angrily, his eyes trying to hold back the river of tears that wouldn't be so helpful to Riku at that point in time. 'God damn it, why is he such a wuss? Just don't fucking cry. Don't fucking cry.'_

_Sighing, he pat Sora on the shoulder, trying to soothe him just enough so he could leave. He really didn't want to deal with this right now but he wasn't giving him any other choice but to make a performance for everyone._

"_Don't worry about it okay? I'm just a little bit stressed out right now. I'll talk to you later okay? Just go hang out with your girlfriend, I know she's worried about you," he said, giving the brunette a reassuring smile as he ruffled up his messy coffee colored locks. Sora just glared angrily at the floor and nodded, his eyes clearing up a little._

"_Yeah whatever asshole."_

That was three days ago and since then Sora had been avoiding _him_ more often, just looking at him angrily and walking away. Even when he tried to pull him to the side during practice, he would just glare at him and walk over to the smug Zen who seemed to be oh too happy about it.

"Hello? Earth to Riku," said the raven-haired teen as he looked over his canvas at his now fuming model. Riku blinked out of his train of thought and looked up at his friend.

"Heh, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"Well cut it out. What's going on with you and Sora? Lately it seems like you're always on the warpath whenever he's mentioned," said Vincent rather irritated as he added another layer of dramatic shadowing on Riku's chest.

"He's just pissing me off."

"Well what about it? Still not putting out?" asked Vincent, making his model glare at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"That's not the point. It's Zen."

"Oh… I see. He always seems like he's trying to pull something."

"Well he's trying to make Sora hate me. He's taking him away from me so that he can have him for himself, the bastard. And what's worse is that he seems so smug about it too."

Vincent then paused and laughed, a little more than the casual chuckles he normally had. However Riku didn't find this funny and glared at him with an angry growl.

"What the fuck is so funny? He's ruining my life here! He's doing this and he _knows_ that Sora's mine!" he argued, making his friend laugh even more to the point that he was holding his stomach in pain. The raven-haired artist then got out of his stool and bent over, still laughing hysterically.

"Take a fucking break! Y-you're killing me!" he managed to gasp out as he collapsed onto his bed. Riku simply stormed over and shook his friend's shoulders, ramming him repetitively into the mattress angrily. No matter how threatening he meant to be, when Vincent saw the roses trying to cling into his hair and sagging down his face helplessly, he found it even more amusing.

"Stop laughing like a retard!"

"Are you even hearing yourself?" chuckled out Vincent as he wiped the few tears from the corners of his eyes. The jock raised a silver eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you and Zen are one and the same." Hearing that, Riku's eyes widened at the realization and he moved off of Vincent and sat next to him in shock, his mouth agape.

"You have to be fucking kidding me."

"Well wake up and smell the coffee moron. He's beating you at your own game. Let me guess, he's suddenly becoming buddy-buddy with Sora and giving him the proposition to become a little more than _just friends_ right?"

Riku just glared at the wall and nodded in reply.

"So, if I get this right, he's now trying to convince Sora that he feels for him and Sora at this time shouldn't really know. He's just gliding over it alland thinking that it'll all end soon and be like a pleasant breeze."

"Yeah, that's like what happened with us during the summer," he added, feeling it all begin to make sense.

"And if he's also like you, he'll then royally screw it up and he'll run back to you no prob."

"Exactly!"

"Now that's where you're wrong."

Riku looked to his friend in angry desperation as he watched him lean back casually into the pillows. "What the hell do you mean?" he asked, earning a sly chuckle.

"Cause at this moment, Sora would have already told him his problems with you and he would know how insecure he is about your relationship because of your little incident at the hotel. Therefore, he would simply assure him that he would never do such a thing and thus gain his trust."

At this Riku nodded his head down in defeat.

"But if he's as cocky as you say he is then he'll most likely try to play off as being supportive with your relationship and even _push_ Sora into swallowing up his fear and being serious with you."

Vincent then lightly punched his friend on the arm from his reclining position.

"So cheer up okay? As long as you don't go crazy again and yell your head off, everything will work fine."

"I hope so," sighed Riku as he pulled the roses out of his hair contemplatively. He knew he was overreacting about the whole locker incident. He had to trust Sora, no matter what he did or what happened. As long as he knew it, ignoring their whole problem with Tidus of course, Sora still wanted to be with him and Riku didn't have any intention of letting him go so easily.

Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the wall behind him and sighed. "This is going to be complicated."

* * *

A/N: Well everyone, I know that this chapter has taken forever to come out and I'm really sorry about that. It's just that I just had a week-long family reunion to help my parents host, got braces put in (right before I'm gonna go to college), and I'm so tired and miserable that I can barely stay awake. Well, I know that this is getting rather interesting. Zen is starting his own little plan and Sora is unhappily falling into it. Poor Riku! And poor Kairi! They _both_ might not get what they want! Bwahahaha! Well, I am still saying that this is a RikuxSora fic so here's a hint, the pain won't be on too long. And I need to wrap up this story in the next five to six phases. I don't want this to go on too long. Well, I hope you enjoy and make sure you vote from the thing at the top. And I won't make this story _too_ hurtful, I promise! See you all later! 


	7. Phase 06: Tempt Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: I don't really have an author note at the beginning of this just cause the one I had before really didn't make sense with the one that I have now. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, I worked my butt off to get this one out. I tried really hard but be truthful with me. If you don't like it, tell me why and I'll do way better on my next one! Thanks. Enjoy!

And now for your reviews:

From Phase 05: Meet Me

**_Evilgoddess1990: _**Hehe. In this twisted world of mine, things are getting a bit weird. I looked back on this story and thought, "man, this is like a mini soap opera kind of thing." I'm glad you still like it with all of the weird drama.

**_Mandeth:_** I'm glad that you laughed at the part where Riku wonders why he ever liked My Chemical Romance. I don't really mean to slam them and I though that too many people would be pissed off after what I wrote but I really didn't care. I always wonder why people like them. I never thought they were anything great except for their "I'm not Okay" video. But then again, I can't stand to hear Evanescence and… dare I say, Green Day. (everyone freaks out) I know it's like sacraligeous. But when you hear them sing "ooohhhhh oooohhhh OOOHHHHHHH" five million times a day for Boulevard and just can't run away from their songs repeating, it gets a bit scary. But I'm glad that you like the story. I'm still wondering if people still do. Heck, if there was one person who cheers like I do whenever there's a review, that would totally make it all worth it.

And for your second review, I'm not that good of a writer. (cries) I'm telling you, I read some of the fics on here, by some of the newer writers nonetheless, and I just huddle up and cry! I really need to get better! And I'll write a lot more and update faster soon, I hope.

**_Phantom Wings:_** Thank you for worrying about me and my braces I have been going back and forth to the doctor's for them and I'm just a little tired of having food constantly still in my teeth. But people say I look cute with them so it's all good! And I'm gonna try to update this chapter more.

**_Crowvii: _**Do you really dance for joy for this story! That is so freaking awesome! I'm gonna cry happily in my corner now! I made someone dance!

**_Ayeshagirl:_** A Leon/Seymour scene would be awesome. I mean they _really_ hate each other so much. And surprisingly enough, other people think it would be great to see them fight too. I'm a bit surprised.

**_Super Yam:_** Well Sora will figure something out soon, but I can't really tell you what. I don't wanna ruin it and frankly… I don't know what will happen. This whole story was actually supposed to be only like four chapters but I guess it went it's own way. We'll see how this works.

**_Crimson Chain: _**I really hope Sora learns to fully love and accept Riku's feelings too. But will he? Hmm… I don't really know…

**_Summerlea: _**I kind of have to agree with you. I like writing the Leon/Cloud parts more. Cause I basically tried to make their conflict a bit more mature and… well… deeper than Rikau and Sora's little petty and childish squabbles. I mean they are still pretty young, so they will be a bit dramatic over everything. But Cloud still is a bit secretive and self-destructive in his own feelings. So it's a bit interesting.

**_RaineArilan:_** No, you can't kill off the twins! At least not Zenith. They're both hot too! I really need to get my sketches of them out on some kind of page or something. Cause their designs are pretty good if I do say so myself. Hahaha! Well I'm glad that you really like this story. One of the best RxS ones? It was probably halfway true in September if you squint a little. Now a lot of the stories that are out or really mind-blowing. Thanks though!

**_losthimagain: _**Zen is the hot blonde jock that came during the second semester and is there to cause havoc and has his eyes set on making Sora his. Or does he? Haha! Well yeah, he's hot and I just finished a sketch of him that I have to post at sometime. And I don't know if Sora will end up choosing Riku. We'll have to see! Seriously, I _really_ don't know. It's just going how it wants to go.

**_yllom21: _**I'm glad you think this is wonderful! I hope so! I try hard to get this thing to work and I think it's crap but I'm glad that you like it! A lot of people like the Riku/Vincent scenes. They have a really close friendship and it's great to write, I'm trying to incorporate the most loved secondary relationships in the next chapter so hope you stay around to read it!

**_Kira666: _**Haha, I like your ending smiley. It's cute. And another Riku/Vincent vote. I really need to get to putting in the scene! I'm getting horrible at this. Maybe I'll just make a whole chapter based on them, a little interlude kind of thing between the plot. Cause Riku/Vincent and Sora/Tidus have a lot of votes.

* * *

Phase 06: Tempt Me

* * *

It was the weekend and Sora threw himself onto his bed. "Yet another week and Riku still hates me. Don't I have all the luck," he sighed as he closed his eyes. 

"Don't worry about it Sora, the guy is bad news anyway," reassured Tidus as he continued to study, for once.

"Riku is not bad news, it's that Zen guy. Seriously, he's planning something. He's also been hitting on me since he got here!"

"Oh you're just being paranoid, the guy is totally straight," said the blonde as he waved Sora off. This made Sora glare at him.

"He's been trying to get at me for two fucking weeks! He's even openly _grabbed_ at me, during _practice_!"

"Well you know how jocks are. He's probably just kidding. Now if you excuse me, I need to study for Bio," said Tidus indifferently as he scratched his forehead with the capped end of his highlighter.

This was really annoying Sora even more. Tidus really _was_ prejudiced against Riku after all and he didn't know why. He had only caught them in the bathroom of the theater over a month ago and was practically condemning him to hell. But if Zen openly grabs his ass and hugs him randomly during practice and _even_ randomly kisses his cheek and call him cute in public, Tidus totally says that he's just _paranoid_!

'The world is out to get me, I know it.' Rolling onto his stomach, Sora decided to try to do something productive and take a nap for once. After two whole weeks of chasing after Riku and receiving the cold shoulder from him _and_ Vincent he needed to take a rest for his own sanity. Frankly, it was the longest two weeks that he had ever been through. Running away from Zen and chasing after Riku, all under the watch of Tidus and his own _girlfriend_ Kairi, _and_ having to pay attention to classes while trying to keep up a smile, it was all hard work.

_**Knock… Knock… Knock…**_

"Oh great, here they are to take me to the loony bin," moaned Sora as he buried his face into the pillow. Tidus simply tossed his book to the side of the bed and walked over to the door.

"Chill out Sora, you're not crazy yet."

He heard the door open. Who the hell wanted to come over now? Kairi and Selphie went to the spa and Riku wouldn't dare come over when Tidus was on the watch, even if he _didn't_ hate him.

"Look Sora, there's someone here to cheer you up!" he heard Tidus say encouragingly as he let the person in and close the door.

"I don't want to be cheered up. Life is hell," he grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh come on Sora, it's not like you to be so miserable."

'Holy fuck!' thought the brunette as he slowly turned around to see a pair of cocky aqua eyes peer back at him.

"Maybe he's hungry," suggested Tidus as he shoved his hands into his pockets casually.

"Well we could go and get some burgers if you want, my treat," said Zen, sitting on the bed next to Sora, rubbing his cheek affectionately. "Besides, I like the cute Sora a lot more."

At this, Sora then shrieked and bolted off of the bed and slammed his back against the door, cowering wide-eyed against it while pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Like hell I'd be _anywhere_ alone with you!" he yelled. This however, made them look at him like he had just sprouted another head.

"Dude Sora, what the hell is your problem?" scolded Tidus in annoyance. "Zen came over because he's worried about you and you freak out like this? Maybe you _are_ going crazy."

"B-B-But did you not _see_ that!" asked Sora disbelievingly as he now felt cornered by them. Was Tidus _that_ blind to not see open flirtation like that?

"What, I'm always a very touchy person, everyone knows that," rebutted Zen with a mask of confusion.

"And even _I_ call you cute Sora, there's no reason to act like this. Especially since you seemed so fine to spend time with Riku."

"Yeah that's true, Riku _is_ pretty confident in himself. It looks like he's going out with that gothic guy, they always seem to be together."

Sora glared at them. How could they talk about Riku like that? Sure Riku and Vincent were really close but that's because they live together and Riku even assured him himself that Vincent was into older women anyway and a relationship between them would be impossible.

"Riku is not going out with Vincent and why are you guys always so negative towards Riku anyway? It always seems like you two are always out to get him, especially you Tidus," asked the brunette, giving them a suspicious gaze.

Tidus just looked at him and then shrugged, averting his eyes; he knew that he couldn't really tell him why. He could tell that the blonde was too afraid to lose his friendship if he told him that he had caught them and blackmailed him to keep away from him. But Zen, on the other hand, had a different a mask of indifference on his face. What was he thinking about? Why did he target him when he _knew_ that he only had eyes for Riku? And Kairi of course too.

"I apologize, I didn't think you'd be that upset. I'm sorry," said Zen humbly, a bit _too_ humbly. Tidus nodded in agreement with the other blonde. Sora just raised an eyebrow and cautiously slid back up the door, standing against it. Something was up, he could feel it.

"I guess I can forgive you. Just don't talk about Riku like that again, he doesn't deserve it," muttered the brunette as he glared to the side. He guessed that he should go with him to get something to eat, after all, if he could get him to apologize like that so easily, then he probably could deal being around him for twenty minutes. 'But that's all,' he thought, grabbing his wallet and shoving it into his pocket.

"Let's just go before I get pissed off again," said Sora as he opened the door.

* * *

"Come on you guys! You've gotta eat something! After all, you both have been doing nothing but sulking these past two weeks and we need to be in a good mood when Yunie comes!" cheered Rikku encouragingly as she dropped a tray of food with a clatter in front of Riku and Vincent. The jock just looked at it with disgust, feeling his empty stomach cringe at the sight of something grilled in fat. There was nothing healthy on the whole tray except the pickles but Rikku just got them for herself. 

"Don't feel up to it," muttered Riku with a passive sigh as he shoved the tray closer to Vincent, hoping _he'd_ eat it so it could shut up the annoying blonde.

"Why you little-!"

"Don't push them Rikku, if they don't want to eat, they don't have to. Besides they probably are fasting to keep up their figure or something weird like that," said Zenith casually as he leaned back into the booth, sipping on his chocolate milkshake.

"Shut up Zenith," said a very annoyed Riku. The blonde just shrugged and ate some of his fries.

"Don't get angry at me, go yell at my brother."

"You know what, I don't know why _you're_ sulking Vincent. It's not like _you're_ heartbroken or anything," sighed Rikku as she finally decided to give up on them. The ebony haired teen just shrugged.

"I'm mostly bored, nothing much really. And the mood at the room isn't very uplifting either. So that's it basically," he replied coolly, making the blond girl smack her hands upon the table, leaning over it to him angrily.

"So you're saying that I was all worried about you for _nothing_!"

"Well, I really _do_ appreciate the gesture."

"That's not the point! I hate you so much right now!" With that, she grabbed his burger and took a big bite to prove her point with a peeved glare.

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my little black boots," breathed Vincent as he folded his arms. Riku just chuckled slightly. It seemed that every time they were even _around_ each other, Vincent and Rikku would always bicker about the simplest things. But thinking about it, it would be weird if they just simply got along. It would be creepy without them chasing after each other swinging fists.

"Well Riku, at least _you_ have to eat. Sulking about Sora won't fix anything," offered Zenith. Sadly enough, even though his brother was a cocky asshole who was trying to steal his boyfriend, Zenith was actually a pretty good guy. It gave him someone to talk to while the fighting in the background ensued. Plus the guy was intelligent so that brought a new thing to the group since they all were too carefree, horny, or drunk to come up with logical sense.

"I guess, no use in starving myself right?"

"Pretty much, unless Sora is a necro."

This made Riku laugh a bit, throwing his two other friends off of their argument. Zenith was right, even though everything was killing him in the inside, it didn't mean that he needed to be killing himself on the outside. Well at least he felt that he could start on the fries since cold fries really suck and are basically ruined. Burgers could basically be reheated anyway.

"Wow, Riku is… dare I say, eating?" asked Rikku with a playful girly grin. The jock just opened his mouth, grossing her out.

"Sure looks like it doesn't it," replied Vincent, earning a chuckle from the other male at the table. Rikku just closed her eyes and futilely tried to prevent herself from gagging.

"That's fucking gross! That's probably why he doesn't want you!"

"Bite me," said Riku casually as he leaned back into the booth, sipping on his soda. Suddenly Vincent took on an emotionless expression.

"Uh, Riku?"

"Yeah Vince?"

"Are you feeling better?" he asked in an unusually serious tone. Vincent was normally emotionless every now and then but he never was this serious unless something was happening. That, or when he felt embarrassed or awkward.

"Um, yeah. Pretty much so. Why?"

"Then don't look up," stated Vincent sternly, making the two blondes look at him in confusion, including Riku.

"What do you mean by-?" started Rikku as she turned to look behind her but then quickly turned around, shock displayed across her whole face. "Yeah, don't look."

This made him raise an eyebrow. What was making them get so nervous about? And why couldn't he look?

Then he looked up. Across the restaurant there was none other but Sora and Zen standing side to side, actually looking relatively comfortable around each other. But, to the eyes of someone like Riku, it seemed a bit too comfortable to be simply lunch between acquaintances.

"Uh, Riku? Stop staring at them, you're gonna look desperate or something," pleaded Rikku as she waved her hands in front of her friend's face. He simply ignored her, focusing his glare at the back of the brunette's head while Sora casually made his order.

The rest of his friends at his table just looked at each other, hoping someone had something to say to break the tension in the air.

Zenith just sighed and rolled his eyes. It was his brother doing this again, causing havoc wherever he went. Throughout all of his years of going to the same school with him, Zen would always be the person making a racket and breaking hearts, leaving a bloody brawl in his wake. And all of those years, Zenith was always misunderstood and even blamed for the things his brother did, making his life not that much easier to get through.

He watched from the corner of his eye as his brother passed him, eying him threateningly. He knew what that meant, he didn't want Zenith to interfere in his own game of seduction which probably meant that he had wanted to be alone with the brunette in some dimly lit area. However, the blonde just grinned back mischievously. 'Two can play this game.'

"Hey Sora!" called Zenith, causing the previously oblivious brunette to look down at them.

"Huh? Oh, hi Zenith, Rikku, Vincent." Sora then paused as his eyes fell onto Riku, lowering sadly. "Hi Riku."

To everyone's surprise, Riku scooted out of his seat and placed his hand on the small of Sora's back, guiding him to sit down with a welcoming smile.

"Come on Sora, sit with me," he said, giving a quick glare back at Zen who glared back. Zenith just quietly laughed to himself, making Rikku look at him suspiciously. She was about to ask what was so funny but Vincent tapped her ankle, shaking his head.

Sora gave a slight smile and took his seat between Vincent and Riku, happy that maybe things between him and his lover could not be as bad as he thought. Zen however just sighed and sat next to his brother, folding his arms as he leaned back into the seat. Zenith smiled as he watched his brother, he was getting frustrated and didn't want to show it.

Riku put his arm over the side of the long padded seat, making Sora blush slightly, scooting in closer. Vincent looked to the side at him and then picked up a random cold fry, trying to ignore the open display of affection with a frown.

"So," started Rikku, trying to break the ice. Everyone seemed to be still locked in their trances and trains of thought so she tried again. "HEY!" she screamed, slapping her hands onto the counter.

"God Rikku, you don't have to be so fucking loud," muttered Vincent as he ate yet another cold fry. Zenith rubbed at his left ear while his twin just glared at her. Noticing this, she stuck her tongue out at Zen.

"Don't you glare at me like that! Only Vincent and Riku can glare at me, definitely not you… you big meanie!" remarked Rikku, earning a teasing pout from Zenith.

"What about me? Can't I glare at you too?"

"Of course you can! It's just that I can't even imagine you glaring at me. You're not a jerk like the zombie and the love sick idiot over there," she said, earning a glare from Vincent. Riku was too busy rubbing his hand up and down Sora's arm and holding his own private conversation with him to notice.

"Um Riku? I think she was talking to you too," said Sora, making the silver-haired teen glare at her with an icy gaze.

"See! Now _that's_ a glare!" she exclaimed with a grin, making Zenith clap jokingly.

The cashier called out Sora's number, making Zen's ears perk up.

"Sora, our food is ready," he said, holding his hand out for the receipt. Sora just nodded, reaching through his pockets until he found the crumpled piece of paper.

"Don't worry Zen, I can get it," said Riku casually, taking it from the brunette. The blonde looked at him with an icy expression.

"No, I have it. Besides, its _our_ order so I don't think there is any necessity for you to do so."

Riku just chuckled and leaned back against the seat cushion, his lips curved in a catlike grin. "Okay. Besides, _someone_ needs to stay here with Sora right?" he said, sliding the receipt across the table, stopping perfectly in front of the now enraged blonde. Zenith grinned as his brother took the paper and rigidly walked over to the front counter. Once he was out of hearing distance, Rikku giggled.

"Oh my God Riku, that was some _serious_ balls right there."

"I say that you beat him at his own game this time," critiqued Zenith with a grin, giving the jock a thumbs up. Riku just lounged against the seat with his arm around the confused Sora, as content as a milk-fed cat.

"What?" asked Sora, raising an eyebrow at what they were talking about.

"Oh nothing little Sora, don't want your mind to explode," said Zenith teasingly, making the brunette pout.

"Hey, are you calling me stupid?" Sora said in his most threatening voice, seeming more like a wet kitten than anything really to worry about. Riku just smiled, giving the brunette a quick kiss.

"Just don't worry about it babe," he said, making Sora just roll his eyes. Vincent did the same as well, sinking back into his chair, now giving up on the fries.

* * *

Cloud sighed as he walked back home from work. It had been two full months since Squall had left and yet again he waited eagerly for the end of his shift in hopes of the brunette standing there, waiting for him as usual. Yet again, however, he was only greeted with Clara, trying to give an extra special smile since yet again Squall wasn't there. 

"Yet another damn night," he sighed as he walked down the shore side road that they always took.

The water glowed softly against his face as he wrapped his arms around himself, tilting his head to the side with a sigh. It was one of the colder nights the last one before spring would fully come.

It was on a cold night like this when Squall had taken him to the Djose fair that many years ago.

"_Hey Leon, look at all of the games here! And the lights, they're so bright!" exclaimed Cloud in awe as his eyes took in everything around him. The bright yellow bulbs blinked off in the distance as the blonde felt himself become giddy in excitement. There were so many things that he wanted to try and so many foods that they were selling that he had never even tasted yet._

_Leon just stood to the side, a calm smile upon his lips as he watched his friend make his way over to the funnel cake booth._

"_I want to try this. Have you had it before?" asked Cloud, turning back to his friend. The brunette smiled and nodded his head, looking to the menu sign._

"_A long time ago, with my mother when I was little." His eyes then clouded in thought, making the blonde frown a little. It was the yearly carnival and he didn't want his friend to be sad, not at a time like this._

_Looking back to the sign, he bit his lip in concentration, trying to figure out how in the world to order the thing. There were so many different types of fruit and toppings to choose from and he didn't even know what they looked like._

"_Um, I don't know how to order this Leon," he said, nudging his slightly taller friend in the shoulder gently. The previously torrential brunette blinked out of his daze and looked at him, momentarily forgetting where he was._

"_What were you saying?"_

"_I don't know how to order," said Cloud in a low whisper in embarrassment, his cheeks reddening slightly._

_Leon just smiled and put a hand on his shoulder as he placed the order, paying for it against Cloud's wishes. "It's my treat," said the brunette as he sat them on a bench to the side, holding the hot and sugary treat on a plate in his hands._

"_It looks really good," said Cloud as he eyed it carefully. The mass of fried cake batter was lightly sprinkled in snow-like powdered sugar and drizzled all over with strawberries, the juice seeping into the goodness._

"_Well dig in, it's great," said Leon, taking a bite out with his fork._

_Taking the other fork into his hand gracefully, he looked at the funnel cake in curiosity and tentatively poked at it, raising the eyebrow of his friend._

"_What are you doing?" asked Leon, watching Cloud frown and poke at it some more._

"_I'm trying to eat this, what do you think I'm doing?" he spat as he furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't help but feeling frustrated whenever he couldn't do something that other people would have considered easy._

_Leon sighed and ripped off an extra gooey piece with his fingers. "What do you think you're doing?" asked Cloud while backing up, not wanting Leon to see him blushing. He had been trying to keep his feelings for him a secret for the past few months but his friend's sudden change in attitude towards him made it even more difficult to hide the redness that would constantly creep into his face._

"_You're not going to be able to eat it that way. The forks are too flimsy," Leon replied, lightly nearing the treat to his friend's lips with an unusually playful expression._

Remembering that day, Cloud smiled. It was one of his favorite memories. Sitting with Leon on the Ferris wheel, leaning his head against the brunette's broad shoulders and just staying like that for the rest of the night was the best thing he could have ever hoped for. But he was gone now, gone because of his insecurities and lingering feelings for someone else.

"You bastard," he muttered as he balled his fists at the recollection of the man that stole his heart. Yet again, like those many nights before, he had taken everything from him, all that he loved. His town, his mother, his heart and body, even Squall was taken by him too, by a man that hadn't shown his face for four years.

Closing his eyes, he felt the empty sinking feeling in his heart. He was gone; he left him for a woman he met in the Golden Square. The bastard did nothing to stop Cloud from crying or even comforting him in the slightest bit as he simply dressed and left into the warm summer night.

"I hate him." Those were the only words he could say at that point. Because of the monster that stole his heart, he had to break the heart of the one person that stayed with him and cared for him with tenderness and respect. And because of his stubborn heart that didn't want to let go of the one he longed for, he stupidly allowed Squall to simply walk out of the door and out of his life.

Walking up the driveway to his front door, he sighed, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes. He didn't remember when he had first started crying but he didn't care, no one was there to watch him. The realization of that made him want to cry even more, blurring his eyesight as he fiddled with his keys, trying to unlock the door.

As he entered his empty house, he closed the door and leaned against it, putting a hand to his downcast face as he silently began to cry. He was a fool, an idiot. Why did he harshly reject Squall's feelings when not so long ago he was madly in love with him? He had security with him; he was taken care of and treated as if he actually lit up someone else's life instead of walking in the shadows of another's. So why _did_ he allow him to leave, why did he deny Squall the chance to love him, if even just a little?

"Squall," he whimpered, sobbing like a child as he sat against the floor, feeling like the smallest person in the world.

Suddenly, out of the blue, there was a firm knocking at the door, quickly silencing the blonde. Who would be coming to visit him at _this_ hour of the night? There was no one that he could think that would come at this hour unless…

His heart suddenly skipped a beat and he felt as if he was going to fall into some kind of black abyss. What if it was Squall? What if he came back? But then the whole problem was, would he take him back? Would he beg for forgiveness and give his wounded heart to him like he should have all along? Or, should he simply let him stay out of the door and make him realize how hurt he was?

"Squall?" he asked excitedly as he opened the door, sad eyes lit up in hope. The long flow of soft silvery hair and the cold deep cyan of his eyes gave him the feeling as if some kind of phantom hand reached into his chest and pulled out his still beating heart for him to hear. 'No,' he thought. 'It can't be.'

Sephiroth looked at him with a bored expression, eyes swimming with riddles and deception. Leaning in closer to the wide-eyed blonde, he whispered icily into his ear.

"Long time no see."

* * *

"Hey guys, have you heard of eSlam?" asked Rikku as she hopped onto the side of the lunch table, swinging her legs over the side. Everyone around her just casually shrugged. "Oh my God! It's the biggest thing here now!" 

"Let me guess, its some kind of place where you basically tell everyone your deepest and darkest secrets," sighed Vincent as he drank down more of his soda. At this, Rikku's eyes widened.

"How did you know?"

"I just thought of the stupidest thing that it possibly could be. Easy actually," he grumbled, earning a glare from the perky blonde. Riku just laughed as he watched yet another fight in the making.

"So essentially, you go on this thing and write something embarrassing about yourself? Why the hell would you want to do something like that?" asked the jock. Rikku turned her gaze to him and grinned, waving an index finger from side to side.

"That's the beauty of it. It's totally confidential; you don't even have to put your name down! Just putting it out there is so freeing, especially since you can read other ones and sometimes you find that other people are feeling the same as you do!"

Riku just shrugged and continued eating his sandwich, not really caring. After all, when it came to his darkest secrets, he always put it out in the open and the only one that he used to hide was now pretty public.

"I have nothing to tell."

"Oh come on Riku! You have to have something still left in that broody heart of yours," she teased, tapping at his chest playfully. Riku just glared at her.

"You all know everything that I feel. There's nothing to hide anymore."

Zenith raised an eyebrow. "You've never stolen anything? Or even cheated on a big test? What about family problems?" Riku just shrugged, still eating.

At this, Rikku deflated, looking at him with a confused expression. How could someone as mysterious as Riku have no hidden secrets?

"Hey Riku!" said Sora as he sat down next to the silver-haired teen, placing his tray onto the table. At the sight of the brunette, Riku's eyes lit up and he scooted his seat over so that Sora could pull a seat next to him. Vincent sighed and moved over to the side, deciding to watch the people walking by outside.

"Oh hey Sora. Riku's being all broody again," sighed Rikku as she took Vincent's bag of chips, shrugging when the raven-haired artist didn't show any sign of caring.

"They're just too upset that I don't have any big secrets to put onto that stupid eSlam site."

"Oh, I know that site," said the brunette casually, dabbling a little into the pasta that he picked up. Rikku's eyes lit up and she slammed her hands onto the table.

"Oh my God! Have you put anything on it yet?"

"Eh, not really. I'm still thinking about what to put," replied the brunette casually as he stabbed at a juicy piece of tomato. The perky blonde deflated and pouted, folding her arms with a huff.

"Anyways, Sora, the concert is coming up soon. Wanna go with me?" asked Riku as he tried to change the conversation. Vincent narrowed his eyes at a happy couple talking with their friends while holding each other.

"Oh, um… about that," replied Sora, looking at his lover guiltily. He didn't really want to tell him but he knew that he had to.

"Well, what is it? Are you going with Kairi? Cause if you are, that's cool. I'll just go with Vincent and everyone."

Rikku gave a worried look over to the brooding raven-haired teen. Sora shifted nervously, twirling his fork in his pasta.

"Well, I was kind of going with Zen instead. I mean, he's not really that bad and he kind of listens to me you know? And Tidus kind of forced me to when he asked."

Riku furrowed his eyebrows, trying not to be angry. "What do you mean 'he listens to you'? I listen to you all of the time."

"Yeah, but you really don't try to understand me Riku, at least from my point of view. It's okay, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say, it's just that I need someone outside of this to talk to that's all."

At this Riku glared at the brunette. How dare he say such a thing? He was trying with all of his might to listen to him and understand him. If anything, he was neglecting his _own_ needs!

Rubbing his temples with a frustrated sigh, the jock decided to end that conversation right there.

"Fine, go with him. I'll just go with everyone else. But I warn you, I have bad feelings about this guy, really bad feelings."

Sora huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not about the whole locker room thing is it? I thought we got over it," said the brunette as he twirled his pasta into a tight mass of noodles.

"Well, you know what Sora, I'm not over it. But I shouldn't have expected anything less from you anyway. I mean, after all, you're fine about being with me behind Kairi's back so why not with him too?" said Riku, trying to calmly explain his feelings. However, Sora fumed, glaring coldly back at him.

"What do you mean by that Riku? I told you that it wasn't my fault." He then threw up his arms and stood up, gathering his things. "I should have fucking known that you wouldn't understand."

"W-w-wait! What's wrong? I'm just telling you how I feel," explained Riku as he stood up as well, making the chair make a skidding sound underneath him.

Sora just picked up his tray angrily. "You know what, he's right about you. You don't care about anyone else's feelings but yourself."

"What the hell are you talking about? I think that _I'm_ the last one that should be accused of selfishness!" yelled Riku, finally loosing the grasp on his temper. At this, Sora stormed off towards the tray conveyer belt with an angry Riku in toe.

"Oh God, here they go again," sighed Rikku as she propped her chin on her hand. Zenith just shook his head.

"And all because of my brother..."

Sora sat the tray on the conveyer belt and was about to walk out when Riku grabbed his wrist.

"Ow! Let go of me!"

"Not until you start making some kind of damn sense!" he spat, glaring his icy eyes back at him. Sora just looked back at him defiantly. "All I have been doing these past weeks, hell, past few _months_, was nothing but kissing your ass, hoping that you might one day wake up and make up your mind. But you've been a childish little brat, complaining when you don't get exactly your way!"

"That's not true!"

"Well what the fuck was that just now? What have you _been_ doing? Sooner or later you will have to choose one of us because this sneaking around crap just isn't working and its making me feel like shit being balanced with now _two_ other people!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean _two_ other people?"

"You know who I'm talking about. He's just trying to get into your pants but you just don't see it!"

"Now how does that ring a bell?" said the brunette sarcastically, folding his arms with an annoyed look on his face. "I seem to recall you being after me since you hit _puberty_, unless you told _me_ wrong!"

Riku just paused, trying to calm himself down and start over. He knew that Sora was getting too upset to listen to reason but he couldn't believe how stupid the brunette was to simply believe that Zen had any kind of good intentions for him. Wasn't it obvious that he was only after Sora to use him?

Ever since the time in the locker room, he had been bothered at the slight thought that the blonde might be winning. How _could_ he even think that he could possibly trick Sora into being with him when he himself had history with the brunette? Sure it wasn't a good history but one nonetheless. He had done nothing but cater to Sora and give him everything that he possibly could have asked for. He had given his heart to him willingly even though he knew that he hadn't loved him and waited patiently for his feelings to be returned in any simple way.

But it wasn't always that easy in life wasn't it?

"Fine."

Sora looked at him in confusion, his bright blue eyes wide and unsure.

"What did you just say?" he asked, not really understanding what had happened. Just a few seconds ago, it seemed as if they were going to chew each other out over who he was going with to the concert. Now he was dropping it as if it didn't happen?

Riku just sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm just tired of chasing you Sora. Especially since I just keep getting nothing," he said frankly, looking off to the side sadly. It was true. After all of the years he had been pining after him secretly far and after he finally was able to have him solely for that brief moment, it was only now that he realized that he never truly had him at all.

He was always waiting for Sora to figure out his feelings and maybe start to love him. And also he had to learn the hard way when he first moved into the university that he was still with Kairi. That fact almost killed him inside. Wasn't he worth enough to be truthful with? Was he just some summer fling to him that he thought would go away when he wanted?

Looking at Sora, he just didn't really know anymore. Even though he had been cruel to him for most of their lifetime, he still couldn't figure out why Sora, someone who had been known to carry a great sense of right and wrong, would do something like this. Why would he feel so easy with himself when he was actively hurting two people that really cared about him and trusted him?

"Riku wait," said the brunette as the jock was about to walk away. He paused only for a brief second, his shoes slightly squeaking in protest, but he didn't care to look back at him. He didn't owe him that much.

* * *

It was a bit after dinner time before Vincent entered the dismal dorm room. Shifting his crimson eyes to the side, he spied his roommate sitting on his bed, back against the cold wall as he tossed a tennis ball against the other wall repetitively. 

"I'm back," he tried, tossing his sidebag to the side. Riku just grunted in reply and tossed the neon green ball against the wall again.

The other teen just sighed, running a hand through his long black hair before going through his things trying to find something. Pulling it out, he looked it over again before he walked over to his friend, holding his hand out sternly.

"Here, I got this for you."

Yet again he received no verbal response as the ball continued its pace to the wall and back, a continuing hitting sound echoing across the room. It was starting to annoy him. Here he was, trying to cheer his friend up and only received the cold shoulder. 'Shouldn't _I_ be the bitchy one here?' he thought with an irritated sigh, tossing the neglected CD onto the side next to his brooding friend.

"Fine, be an ass. _I_ wasn't the one who broke your heart," he muttered, taking his black coat off to hang it up. As he did so, he heard a hard slam and then the sound of things crashing down to the ground. Turning around, he saw the lamp on his desk hit against the floor as a few more of his things scattered across the surface and falling off of the table.

"What the fuck!" Vincent exclaimed, rushing over to his table to pick up his pens and trying to shove his pencils and brushes back into the cups that they were previously in. "What the hell is your fucking problem!"

Riku just glared at him before crawling under the covers, rolling over to his side.

"I was trying to hit _you_," he muttered under his blanket.

The guy was confusing him. Why was he taking it out on him when he hadn't done anything wrong?

Picking up his lamp and rearranging it back onto the table, he cast a tired glance back to his moping roommate. It was practically a whole day since Riku and Sora had their fight but he had been acting like a zombie the whole time. Whenever he talked to him or anything he only received silence and a cold glare. It wasn't like the normal Riku he was used to. The jock was always talking to him about Sora or other things that had happened during the day or was admiring his artwork. At least the previous Riku, though a bit lovesick, was enjoyable.

He smiled at the thought, picking up his poor miniature red rose plant that Riku had bought him for his birthday. It was a cold fall night when Riku realized that it was his birthday, being very disappointed for him not reminding him. Vincent didn't care though, it wasn't like he ever liked his birthdays. Every time that he was home, he only received a small cake from his caretaker and some kind of sketchpad and pencils that she had scraped up money to get. But he was appreciative, it was better to be in a foster home than having to live in the orphanage again.

Then he sighed, looking back at his friend who lay fully clothed under the covers, probably trying to bottle up all of the emotions he was feeling inside of him. He didn't like seeing him like this, not being so teasing and sarcastic like he had become accustomed to.

Sitting next to his friend's quiet form, he placed an unusually comforting hand on the jock's shoulder. There were few times when he was actually remotely gentle with someone but he figured that this situation needed it.

Riku's body stiffened as the artist watched him with his eerie yet gentle eyes. "Just cry," said Vincent, earning a confused and slightly angry look from the jock.

"What?"

Vincent just placed his hand back to the side of him before standing up quietly his face returning to its original stoic look. He didn't want to really admit that he was really worried about him but he knew that it was pretty obvious.

Walking over to his clothes bin, he pulled off his shirt, not wanting to look at his friend. "You shouldn't hold all of your emotions in, it'll just destroy you from the inside," he sighed, pulling off his jeans and throwing them in the hamper. Climbing into his own bed in his boxers, he picked up a random hair tie and tied his long black hair up and away from his face in a loose ponytail.

"There's _nothing_ to cry about."

"Hmm?" asked Vincent looking over to his friend. Riku just rolled over to face him, an angered expression apparent on his features.

"There's nothing to cry about. After all, I wasn't worth enough to him anyway. It was stupid," he sighed before closing his tired eyes, letting himself drift off to sleep, his friend watching over him in confusion before going to bed as well.

* * *

A/N: I had to get this out. I don't know how good this is. I don't even know why I'm starting to lose my focus in writing. I had really good chapters in the beginning but now they are getting kind of lackluster. I don't know why! Maybe it's cause I'm not so angsty anymore? Things have pretty much calmed down for me again. Eh, I'll just have to work harder. I will though. And the next chapter should hopefully be better than this one, I'm losing my touch, whatever it was. (cries) 


	8. Phase 07: Confuse Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: Wow. A new chapter, and from me no less! What's next, world peace and the end of world hunger? Kingdom Hearts III coming out next year with a secret ending for RiSo fans! Yeah, that'll probably all not happen in the time frame allotted. But I came closer by giving you one miracle, a new chapter of Believe in Me. Damn dry spells!

Well, about this chapter, hmmmm…

I frankly didn't want to release this chapter yet because, well, I feel a little rusty from typing and I don't want to send out a piece of rushed crap, which I probably did anyway but whatever. So if there are big gap or something stupid like that in here, **_please_, **in the name of all things holy, tell me! I don't want to be all happy and then see that I totally missed a whole half of a scene!

Enough of my guilty ranting. Enjoy!

* * *

Phase 07: Confuse Me

* * *

"Leon," he sighed, watching the sunrise from the patio in the back of his seaside house. Ever since he had moved to Besaid, Cloud had always watched the sunrise whenever he was deep in thought or whenever he just wanted to get away from the stresses of life. Sunrises, unlike sunsets, were the most calming and beautiful thing to him. Sunsets always reminded him of how his life was. Whenever there was something that he had that would brighten up his life it wouldn't last long and it would be taken away from him, receding into the swift darkness.

Sunrises were another story. They signified the beginning of a new day, with the sun coming out from its hiding place to cast away the darkness and wrap him with its warm light.

It had been a week since Sephiroth had returned and every day seemed like a miniature sunrise. He was happy. At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

Rubbing his bare arms, he continued to watch the red sun ascend into the sky, turning into shades of orange and yellow as it went higher and higher. He _was_ happy, he had to be. He had the one he longed for the most with him and he shouldn't want anything more.

Last night though he had been unreasonable. Sephiroth had decided to be courteous and wait for him to end his shift so that he could walk him home. He knew that he was just trying to do something to repay him for allowing him to stay with him. But once he saw the silver-haired man sitting back at a table, idly shuffling through the sugar packets, he just snapped and yelled at him.

Sephiroth took it well, just glaring at him and explaining himself in the dominating manner that he always seemed to have and just walked in chilling s while the blonde tried desperately to apologize.

With everything as 'perfect' as they were, he still couldn't keep his mind off of Leon. It had been months since they had last spoke to each other and he was becoming even more worried with each passing day. It wasn't like the man to suddenly disappear and not tell anyone where he was going. Well, at least he normally told Cloud.

Sighing, he let his long legs sway a little over the edge, debating whether or not to simply go inside and make breakfast for Sephiroth before he woke up. That was another thing that confused the blonde even more. The man would aimlessly wander the house and the beaches in the wee hours of the morning before going to bed to sleep right before sunrise. If he didn't know better, he would have suspected that he was some kind of a vampire, trying to enjoy the world before the scorching sun rose from the horizon.

Cloud laughed at that a little. Sephiroth, with his numerous quirks, was still one of the most flawless beings that he had ever come across, if not _the._ Everything that he did, no matter if it was towel drying his hair after a shower or watching history specials, had a sense of overwhelming grace that he couldn't help but watch in awe from. Many people had said that Cloud possessed a refined grace but it was nowhere near the alluring precision of every move of the silver-haired god laying in his bed.

He walked back to the house and closed the screen door silently with a small clicking sound. Since he had gone grocery shopping a few nights before, he had plenty of food to work on.

'There are Belgian waffles or crepes. I made pancakes already so there needs to be something new,' he thought as he looked over the ingredients in the fridge, chewing on his lip gently before sighing. When he had been living with Squall he didn't need to cook. With Squall he-

"God! I've got to stop thinking about it," he sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face. He was supposed to be happy. He was _supposed_ to! So why did his mind continue to linger on Squall? Why did it still hurt to think about him?

* * *

Sora sat on the beach, watching the birds fly overhead and into the blue horizon. What was happening to them? Riku refused to speak to him even more than before. Even when Sora was walking with Zen, Riku didn't care and just continued with his conversation.

The sand castle he made was starting to get boring as he just ran the hot sand through his fingers aimlessly. Everything about their relationship was becoming a problem that just collapsed in his face. He really did love Riku, that wasn't the problem at all. The problem was that he didn't love him with all of his heart, that was for sure. After all, he still had a piece of his heart reserved for Kairi and he didn't want to let her go. Was that so bad to love more than one person exclusively?

Thinking about it, he hadn't been the best boyfriend to Kairi either. Hell, he hadn't even talked to her in the past week since she got sick and he broke up with Riku. What was going to happen with their relationship? Was that the next one to die? Was he going to be all alone because he neglected all of the people that he really cared about?

Sniffling, he tossed a handful of sand angrily into the water, watching it dissolve and collect with the rest. He had royally fucked everything up for himself because he was being too finicky about everything in his relationships. He should have just listened to Riku and tried not to make him angry. And he should have paid more attention to Kairi instead of moping about what the jock had made him sad about.

The sand crunched next to him and he looked up at his visitor.

"Hey Sora. What's wrong?" asked Zen, peering down at him worriedly. Sora frowned and looked back at his slowly collapsing sandcastle, poking at it. He didn't want to admit to the blonde that he was upset, not about this. After all, Zen _had_ warned him that it would happen if he left so many ties unchecked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just a few sniffles, that's all."

Zen eyes him over suspiciously before setting himself next to him, crossing his long legs perfectly. "Well, it doesn't seem like you would be the type of person that would get sick so easily. Hell, I can't even imagine you sick at all. The sky might fall if you ever did," said the blonde, making Sora chuckle softly.

"I guess."

Grabbing another bunch of sand, he started trying to patch up his sand castle again, replacing the once perfect tower with an odd and wobbly one. He was never that good at sand castles; it was always Tidus that made the best ones. He would always come out with the best, masterfully shaping each tower and knocking a few down that would ruin the others. Sora was always the person to fill the buckets with sand or water whenever they made one.

Zen watched him for a few moments in calming silence, grinning as Sora cursed when another tower started to fall. Sora pouted at this. He didn't like the smug bastard laughing at him while he was struggling in making a simple four tower sand castle. It reminded him of Riku when he used to bully him because he couldn't get passing marks on his penmanship tests in third grade. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't prove the idiot wrong and it made him constantly self conscious when people looked at his handwriting.

"Do I amuse you?" grumbled Sora as he glared back at his friend out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, it's pretty cute actually."

Sora blushed at this and pouted even more, roughly making a random sand mound on the side of the horrible castle. There he went again, saying he was cute. He hated it whenever he said that, after all, he wasn't anything close to cute was he? He was nineteen for crying out loud! There was nothing cute about that.

Pulling up his knees to his chin, he wrapped his arms around his legs and sighed.

"Is there anything wrong?" asked Zen, voice calm with concern. Sora just sighed again and closed his eyes.

"Nothing really, just the same old thing."

There was a long pause in silence before the blonde got up and situated himself on the other side of the sandcastle. With one slow and sweeping movement, he neatly leveled the poorly constructed sandcastle.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sora, upset that the thing that he was working so hard on was just flattened out like that.

Zen just grinned back at Sora as he started smoothing away a spot in the middle for a flat foundation. "What?"

"I was gonna fix it," the brunette meekly replied, trying not to sound as childish as he already was. The blonde chuckled at this and picked up the bucket that he was previously using, filling it with gobs of sand.

He filled it and placed the bucket perfectly in the center, pressing it firmly into the sand and giving it a slight twist. The tower came out perfect, smooth on the edges and soft on the walls of it. Sora frowned as he watched his friend take the smaller cup and fill it with slightly moist sand.

"You don't have to show off about it," said Sora as he watched the tower grown higher and higher until there were three perfect tiers.

Zen just smirked as he filled up the bucket again. "I'm not showing off Sora. If I was, then I'd be trying to impress you."

Placing the bucket down with a twist, another tower emerged. A few shells adorned the top of it, making look like a smooth mosaic surface. Sora rolled his eyes. And here Zen was saying that he _wasn't_ trying to impress him.

He continued to watch the blonde in silence as the castle began to form itself. It was composed of a set of towers with a tall three-tiered tower in the center, the smaller ones, three in number, were arranged around it with beautiful shells gracing the tops. A moat was dug out from the middle tower out to the edge where a wall was being formed. Sora just pouted as Zen casually began to hand-build the fortress walls.

"How did you get so good at this anyway? It's not like you've never done this before so don't try it," pouted Sora, making his friend chuckle lightly.

"I used to build sand castles with my brother when we were children," he began, sitting back as he smiled at the memory. "My mother used to take us every year for our birthdays and Zee and I used to have little competitions. Which one was better; which one was taller. Even which one could resist the water better or had better moats."

Sora watched him with a smile, observing how the late-day sun cast his face with an orange glow, his aqua eyes seeming green in the light. It was almost like…

He shook his head at that. There was no reason for him to make himself sad, at least not now. He was actually having a pleasant moment and he didn't want the thought of Riku to ruin his good mood just this once.

"Well," Sora started, scooting closer to the blonde so that he could hear better. "Who normally won?"

Zen just chuckled and leaned back on his arms, cocking his head to the side as he squinted back at Sora through the sunlight.

"My brother did, of course."

Sora just laughed at that, looking out to the horizon, watching the glittering, almost green, surface of the water. It seemed as much since Zenith was the quieter of the two. But even within that silence, when he was in his biology class, he seemed to have a sense about him that made him seem like 'some kind of genius,' to put it in Tidus' words.

"You must have been a nice brother, to let him beat you," said the brunette with a faraway smile.

There was a pleasant sigh next to him. "No, not really. It's only because I can admit that, in many things, he was better than me."

A dark mood started to creep over Sora as he thought about his words. If only Riku, of all people, would be able to understand that. Sure he was a great team player and things like that but when it came down to it, no matter how much he had let his ego be put aside, it was still there. At first it was a bit of a turn on for him though he never knew why. After all, that cockiness was the same thing that kept bullying him for his entire educational life and seduced him into making love in the oddest of places. But he always found it something that he felt was interesting, as long that it wasn't directed to him. And when it was, he hated that streak in Riku with a passion.

But Zen was different. Sure, he still _did_ have an ego, a rather big one actually. But the thing that made him different was how gentle he always was, even when he definitely knew that he could do laps around whatever Sora could do. He was able to be so understanding _without_ having to place his pride to the side. It was _because _of his pride that he was able to be so admirable to him, to seem so larger than life.

Sora smiled to himself as he thought about it while watching the calm water sparkle and glow with the sun. In some ways, that was what made him like Zen a _bit_ more.

* * *

"Okay! Now we _definitely_ have to meet at the stairs at six o' clock so that we can make it in time to get an exceptional spot. After all, I don't want to bother Yunie in making her get us some place where we can see!" ordered Rikku as the group sat at a table enjoying the cool weather. It was two weeks until the big concert and it was all that they ever talked about. Rather, it was all that _Rikku_ ever talked about. The rest of them had different things on their mind that were much more important, at least to them.

Riku just sighed as he sat on the table, his feet tapping the concrete bench under him as he leaned back, his arms propped behind him. The day was too nice for him to have to listen to her dragging on on the "importance" of the concert. Sure, it was the big thing on the campus but still, there was no reason to make a ceremony of it.

"Are you even listening to me!" demanded the blonde girl as she put her hands on her hips, bending forward at him with a pout. Riku's eyes faltered a little as his mind wandered to the last person that had pouted at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," he grumbled as he scratched his head annoyed. Why was he thinking about him again? After all, he was getting over him right? The whole thing bugged him. He knew he was definitely getting over Sora but it was aggravating to have every thing that was around him seem to make his mind wander back to the blue eyed boy.

Rikku just deflated and plopped herself down next to Vincent, putting her head on her arms on the table.

"No one cares about me anymore!" she whined, making Riku raise his eyebrow curiously.

"Good, you finally noticed," mumbled Vincent as he took another sip of his caramel flavored coffee.

The blonde girl looked up at him angrily, her lips in a full pout as she tried her best to look menacing. Riku averted his eyes. 'There it went again. I have to stop dwelling on him,' he thought as he sighed, watching the people walk by.

Zenith watched the jock out of the corner of his eye. He had been noticing Riku's behavior change, how he would suddenly stop in the middle of a conversation and watch people go by or looking at nothing at all. At first, it only seemed that it was only every now and he had blamed it on being exhausted after his midterms. But it has been a week after midterms would be over and there was still the disinterest in conversation and the wandering glances.

He watched as Riku sighed again, his gaze shifting to a few dried leaves scattering down the pathway and into the grass. Something was wrong with him, any idiot could see that. 'Well, any idiot except Rikku,' he thought as he grinned to himself. The big problem wasn't that he was depressed, it was more in trying to get Riku himself to realize that he was feeling low because of Sora.

Thinking about the whole thing made him frown inside. Riku was only lying to himself, saying that he meant nothing to Sora than just an exciting little affair on the side. And hell, maybe if he was, he still wasn't being fair to himself by believing that Sora didn't have an inkling of love for him. He _did_ love him, that much he could tell whenever he saw them together. It seemed as if they went into their own little world, as cheesy as it sounds. But because his brother was trying to ruin it for them and because of the many things that they were never able to truthfully say to each other, they let their insecurities eat their relationship alive when it still had a fighting chance.

"Well, I have to go and buy a few things from the campus store before my next class starts," said Rikku as she got out of her seat, grabbing her orange backpack. They waved goodbye to her and continued relaxing in silence. It was going to be a long time before it was night and Riku didn't have anymore classes that day since his accounting class was canceled.

Leaning his head to the side, he regarded his raven haired friend who was busy entertaining himself by reading his receipt. "Hey Vince, lets go to the theater and watch a movie in a few. I know you don't have class," he said with a grin. Whenever he gave his roommate that same grin, the artist would always just smirk and give in to doing whatever he wanted to do. But as Vincent just averted his eyes and ignored him, Riku was confused.

"Vincent, what's wrong? You've been so quiet lately," asked Riku, face filled with concern as he moved from his position to sit next to is brooding friend.

"I'm just tired, no big deal," muttered the raven haired teen as he buried his face into his arms, looking away from him. Riku blinked in utter bafflement and lightly cocked his head to the side. He was used to his friend having his angsty moments but normally he would just be his old self again, grinning and making smart remarks. But lately, he had been keeping to himself and hiding away from everyone. Even in the room, he would just keep his headphones on full blast and just stare at his artwork blankly.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Riku bent his head down a little. "I know something's wrong, why won't you just tell me? We're friends after all, right?" he asked, trying to coax him into looking at him. Vincent just chuckled darkly before sitting back up, his arms folded on the table as he looked at his friend with a dark grin.

"You know what Riku, do us all a favor and fix your own problems before trying to mend ours. It's annoying," he said, earning an icy glare from his roommate.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh you know full well what I mean," started Vincent, standing up and brushing himself off casually. Running an ivory hand through his hair, he yawned before continuing. "You're always saying that you're over Sora but you always sulk and make this big sob story about it."

Riku just paused and blinked as he tried to understand what he was saying. After all, it was always _Vincent_ who was always prying the information from him in the first place when Riku was content to just sulk his problems away in a corner somewhere. And it was Vincent that was always saying to take his time with Sora so that they could solve the problem in the right way instead of making a quick fix that would just mess up later on.

The ebony haired youth just shoved his hands into his pockets, looking a bit frustrated in his expression. What was making him so angry?

Placing his hand to his face, Vincent huffed and looked to the side. Something was _definitely_ irking him.

"Ignore what I just said. I'm just going to take a nap," said Vincent as he slowly began to walk off, looking as if he deeply regretted whatever he had said.

Riku just watched him in confusion. What the hell was that? He suddenly started yelling at him about nothing and then suddenly took it back as if it was an accident? It wasn't normal for Vincent's behavior, no matter how odd he might seem at times. All of it disturbed him to no end. How come he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him when he fucking lived with the man for crying out loud!

"Don't worry about him," said Zenith from behind his Al Bhed textbook. The jock just turned back to him in confusion.

"What do you mean 'don't worry about him'? He's obviously upset."

The blonde just placed his book down and leaned back a bit, eyeing his friend over with a bored expression.

'This guy is _way_ too easy to fool. No wonder my brother is taunting him so much,' he thought.

Riku glared in frustration at the silence that followed. What was this guy hiding? If he knew about something then he should obviously just spit it out!

But it wasn't that easy, mostly for the fact that Zenith had little care about the issue since Riku was falling head first into the conflict like an idiot without even noticing why his friends were suffering.

Gathering up his books, Zenith just placed them neatly into his sidebag before he addressed his _still_ clueless and annoyed friend.

"Before you start with the needless worry, you should try to figure it out yourself why he's upset. He'll listen to you if you actually watch and see what is really bothering him,' he said, making Riku's face turn into an expression of deep contemplation.

* * *

Stepping outside to get some fresh air, Cloud ran a hand through his slightly matted hair. The slickness of sweat made his bright blond locks damp as he sighed. The sun was drowning into the sea and night was taking over, enveloping everything around him in thick blue darkness. Even the robe that seemed so bright in its pristine white glory seemed to become a blue glowing shadow on him.

"Where are you Squall?" he whispered into the night, glad for once that Sephiroth wasn't there with him. Looking down over the railing, he watched the murky water slosh around the columns that held the deck up. It seemed to draw his eyes in, sending a cold chill down his spine. Tracing his tongue along his lips he watched the inky ocean recede and pull back under him as he felt a compelling urge to simply slip over the railing and burying himself under that dark water.

He missed the days that he and Leon would spend on the patio, just leaning on the wooden railing and feeling the wind trace through their hair. Whenever Leon stood there like that, with his shirt half buttoned and face contemplating over something dark and far away while his thick brown hair tossed proudly in the breeze, he always seemed so powerful, so… beautiful. Sometimes it took all of the power within Cloud's being to stop from staring at him.

Folding his arms onto the hard weathered wood, he placed his head on the warm skin and sighed yet again, closing his eyes. It had been officially five months since he had seen or heard from Leon and he knew that he had to do something. It was certain that Leon had no plans whatsoever to see him again, no matter how much he claimed to have loved him.

"If only I could know that he's okay."

But he knew that it would be a long shot before he would ever be able to see the man again anytime soon. Hell, he would even be lucky if he would be able to see him within the year, if anything at all. At that thought he slumped even more. Even thought he finally had Sephiroth, he still had that same restless feeling in his heart that yearned for something that always seemed so out of reach.

* * *

Later that night, Zen strolled back into his dorm room, a soft grin upon his face as he hummed a small tune. The lights were off and only the lamplight remained as his brother was fast asleep in bed.

Stopping his jovial tune, he eyed the mess in the sheets that contained his brother and shrugged, placing his books onto the table.

"Where were you that kept you out until two in the morning?" asked Zenith, not bothering to move from his comfortable position.

Zen just chuckled and began taking off his jacket, tossing it to the side.

"Out."

"With Sora I presume?" asked Zenith, in a bored tone. A chuckle was his response.

"Of course dear brother, after all, you know me _far_ too well," he replied in a mocking tone as he pulled of his shirt with a soft grunt.

Zenith just sat up eyeing him suspiciously, his light blonde hair tousled and in deep disarray. He didn't like the overly happy mood that his brother was in, especially if he still had it while coming back into the room so late at night. A feeling of dread sunk into the pit of his stomach.

"You didn't sleep with him did you?" he asked, almost fearfully, not wanting to hear the possible answer.

"No, of course not. I don't even know why you'd think that!"

"It's not like it would be the first. Or second… or third…"

Zen groaned and rubbed his temples while glaring at his twin.

"God damn it! I get the point!"

There was a short pause of silence as Zen went through his drawers, trying to find a suitable pair of pants to sleep in. His brother just watched him wearily, still unsure of why he was in such a good mood.

Normally, whenever Zen had a conquest, he would strategically woo them and then swiftly take what he wanted from the poor individual. Afterwards, he would just ignore them as if he had never seen them before in his life. It was all a simple pattern that should have been going smoothly but not once in many years had his brother seemed so…

"Zen," he asked calmly, contrasting the heavy beating of his heart.

His brother looked at him, sea-green eyes curious. "Yes?"

Zenith averted his eyes. "What did you two, um…, _do _then?"

Zen paused from unzipping his jeans and smiled at the thought, remembering it all vividly. His whole expression seemed to glow with happiness.

"We were at the beach and made sandcastles all day."

"Sandcastles…" whispered Zenith as he remembered their childhood. It was always _their_ ritual whenever they went to the beach, one that they only shared with each other. Somehow, he could help his feeling of betrayal and jealousy that bubbled up inside of him.

As if catching up on his brother's inner angst, Zen shook his head.

"It's not like that Zee, I helped him make one since he had already started before I got there."

The other just 'hmph'-ed.

"And what else?"

Zen smiled again.

"We went to this restaurant that he frequents for dinner and then walked along the campus just… _talking_."

He paused and then chuckled to himself, pulling the pants on and tying the string absentmindedly.

"That's all we did, just talk. And you know what? I rather _liked_ it that way," he said, walking over to his brother's bed and sitting down. "We talked about movies, our pasts, and food. Hell, we even talked about school and politics."

Zen laughed as he remembered it all, his face full of pure unadulterated joy. His eyes shifted back to his brother's and he grinned at him.

"You're not in _love_ with him… are you?" asked Zenith in shock. He had never seen his brother act in the way that he was, not for a _very_ long time. He looked like their mother used to whenever she would receive gifts from their father or whenever they came back from their dinner date out.

Zen looked his brother straight in the eyes and gently nodded his head with a calm that rarely came to the surface.

"Yeah, I think I am…"

* * *

The next morning, Sora decided to visit Kairi. He had spent the whole morning preparing to tell her how he felt about their relationship. He knew that any chance with Riku wouldn't really work out as long as he still harbored feelings for her. So as long as Kairi still didn't know about what was going on, she would probably still accept him as her boyfriend.

Walking down the long walk to her condo, he watched the cement pass under his feet. He had been a royal ass to her, ignoring her for way too long. Selphie had to tell him that his _own_ girlfriend was sick and he _still_ didn't come visit her until a week after. He hung his head at this. There was definitely a lot of apologies that he would have to give her.

As he continued on, he remembered his afternoon with Zen the day before. It was nice to simply walk with him down the beach, watching the waves come and go and just talking about random things. He especially liked it when Zen put his coat over his shoulders though Sora said that he was fine. But he couldn't be attracted to him anymore, he had to be faithful to Kairi.

A part of him felt sad about that though. Zen was a really nice guy and he had so many deep conversations with him that he never had with Riku, though Riku _did_ have his moments.

"Come on Sora," he said, rubbing a hand through his hair. "You have to be faithful to Kairi."

Swinging around the corner, he saw Kairi sitting outside on the step, a blanket around her shoulders and a cup of what he presumed to be chicken broth in her hands. She was humming to herself, watching the clouds go by as she took a little sip, wincing as she burned her tongue.

He hung to the side for a moment, just watching her. It was at times like this, when she was peering out into the beyond while humming a song or in the middle of typing an essay on her laptop, that she was almost angelic. Even then when she was cringing at the taste of the broth, she still seemed as so.

"Kairi!" he called, making his way towards her. Her eyes perked up a little and at the sight of her long absent boyfriend, she grinned a smile to rival his own.

"Sora, you're here!"

Before he could wrap his arms around her in a hug, she gave him a not so light punch in the chest, catching him off guard.

"Ow… Kairi…"

"You big jerk! You've been avoiding me for the past week," she scolded, making Sora frown sadly.

"I'm really sorry Kairi, I just… haven't been myself lately, that's all."

The redhead watched him for a moment, her indigo eyes, studying him like a mother who was suspicious of her son.

"I understand. I heard you and Riku got into a fight."

Sora looked at her in shock, trying not to show the fear that must have been evident in his face. How had she known about the fight? And even worse, what _did_ she know about it? If she knew what it was about or everything that was said…

"So you know huh?" was all that he could force himself to say. She just smiled at him and walked back to the steps and gathered up her blanket and half full cup of broth.

"I know a little."

Walking back into the apartment, she placed the cup onto the coffee table and draped the blanket across the side of the sofa. Sora followed hesitantly as she guided him back to her room. It was generally the same since the last few times that he was there. The light pink walls seemed almost sickly with the curtains closed shut and the lamp lights on. Her bedspread was changed out to a lighter set of soft green and black sheets, a striped pattern spanning across it.

Sitting down on her bed, he waited for her to close the door and sit next to him, a little farther than usual.

"Sora, what I'm trying to say is… well…"

He sat and waited for her to collect his words, feeling himself even more nervous about the speech he had already prepared in his brain. He knew that he needed the time to finally collect himself and make his statement on wanting to continue their relationship clear. But he could tell from the hesitation in Kairi's eyes that she had been preparing herself to a speech as well.

"You want to break up… don't you?" he asked calmly, fixing his clear blue gaze directly at her. She paused for a moment, startled.

"I'm not trying to say that I don't like you. I _do_ Sora! I love you very much-"

"And I do too Kairi," he started, cutting off her train of thought. Scooting closer to her, he placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed a little affectionately, making her catch her breath just slightly. She had never seen Sora act as bold as he was. After all, he was always stumbling over what to say to her.

"Sora," she sighed, looking down at their hands.

"I really want to be with you Kai. Yes, I know that I have been ignoring you a lot lately and wasn't the best boyfriend since I got here. But I'm willing to change all of that. Just give me a chance and I'll be the best person I could possibly be for you Kairi."

It didn't take long for Kairi to give her reply, nodding with a few tears glistening in her eyes. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but Sora _had_ been a horrible boyfriend ever since that summer and she couldn't even recognize the sweet and caring Sora that she used to know from the aloof and avoidant Sora that had been there now. But hearing the words from him made it all the more better. He still did care about her, maybe even as much as she did.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave him a sweet kiss and then enveloped him and a warm hug, sniffling back her cold.

"I love you Sora," she whispered as he rubbed her back affectionately.

He paused, but only for a split second, in hesitation. Inside, he felt a small part of his heart sting but he knew that he needed to close that part of his life, no matter haw painful it might be. After all, he couldn't deny her the love that she wanted from him and waited so devotedly for.

"Me too Kairi. I love you too."

* * *

A/N: Oh my goodness gracious! I can't believe this freaking chapter is done! After such a long dry spell of typing and then deleting and then typing again, I finally get my act together to whip out this chapter. Yeah, I know it probably sucks but it's going to get better, trust me. And I'll be updating more now since I accidentally wrote half of the next chapter last year. Weird, I know.

So, feel free to rant at me on how much you like or hate this chapter. Or even yell at me on how long it took me to get this chapter up and running. I'm really sorry for the wait. But the next chapter will be good, you'll all enjoy it. Scouts honor!


	9. Phase 08: Miss Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

A/N: Well, due to the recent amount of reviews that I have been receiving, this will temporarily be the last chapter of the story. Meaning I'm discontinuing it until I find the urge to write on it again. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not going to keep writing on this, most definitely no. I'll be adding to this story every now and then. However, I will not be posting anymore of this for a while. It may be a short while or it may be a long while, depends on how much I actually feel like writing. I've been writing and changing this story for reviews and I need to get back to writing it for me.

But about the chapter, this is more of a "season finale" per say. It's not the end of the whole story, rather it's the end of a certain ark of the tale. It won't be very dramatic, but it will clear some things up about the end of their freshman year. I hope you guys still enjoy it.

* * *

Phase 08: Miss Me

* * *

The concert came and gone and with it, everything in Besaid University began to find a sense of normalcy. Kairi was reluctantly unable to go because of a fever so he, Zen, Tidus, and Selphie decided to go in her stead. At first Sora was upset but he ended up having a great time with them and Zen even caught a guitar pick for him to brink back to Kairi. 

Sora continued his relationship with Kairi and tried to forget his feelings for Riku. It still was hurtful to think of him, that would take a little more time to get over. But he learned to enjoy the relationship that he had and soon he had rekindled the flame between he and Kairi's icy relationship. It was almost as if he had entirely erased the jock from his life, with a little bit of help of course.

He and Zen had become even closer in the past few days and they spent many afternoons walking along the beach or sitting under the trees just talking. With each passing day, Sora enjoyed the blonde's company, taking in his advice and just relating with each other. After all, Zen really was such a great listener, better than Tidus. And of course he couldn't talk to Selphie about anything involving Riku unless he wanted Kairi to know secondhand.

Two weeks had passed since the sadly uneventful concert.

"Hey Zen?" asked Sora as they both laid side by side on the beach. The warm sand felt wonderful on his bare back as he looked up at the sky, thinking. A few clouds lazily drifted by the lazy late spring island sky.

Zen 'hmm-ed' in reply, shielding his eyes from the sun as he sat back. He had just finished swimming and he was starting to develop a nice tan evenly across his body.

Sora exhaled slowly, rolling onto his side to face his friend.

"How do you think next year will be? Do you even think that we'll be the same this time next year, laying in the sun as comfortable as we are?" he asked, earning a chuckle from the blonde.

"What made you think of _this_ all of a sudden Sora?" laughed Zen, his aqua eyes glittering in amusement.

The brunet just shrugged, leaning up on his elbows, whipping his slightly longer brown hair from his face with a casual swish of his head.

"Well," he started, not sure if he really wanted to voice his insecurities on this matter just yet. "Last year, at this time, I was thinking that right now I would be with Kairi and we'd be doing all of the things that normal freshmen do at the beach, drinking and fooling around."

"You still can do that Sora, it's not like it isn't an option."

Sora nodded his head, closing his eyes. "I know Zen. The thing that bothers me is how everything has changed. How in a simple year, friendships and relationships have changed so much. Tidus and I haven't been as close since he's been seeing Selphie. Hell, he's even _studying_ and seeing only one girl for more than a month. Kairi and I grew apart for most of the year, though we got back together again. And… well, you came into the picture too."

Zen grinned at that last point that he made. It was true for him too. Sora was definitely not an intended thing that he was planning when he first got to Besaid University. But sure enough, they had developed such a strong and special bond that he couldn't even imagine having with anyone. No matter how social he was, he was still very much a lone wolf by nature.

"I guess it's true," replied Zen. "And I'm glad that things are like this."

"Oh, I am too. Don't get me wrong. It's just that… well."

A wave of sadness washed over the brunet's face, his features downcast. It was Riku. He'd never planned on Riku being there, that the jock would be in love with him, or that they would have such a fiery and illicit romance as they did.

Sora sighed as he looked out into the sea, the same sea that held the same shade of blue-green as the silver-haired jock that had in the mess and lies, swept him away for just a moment in time to something that he could accurately describe as pure happiness.

"I didn't plan on really falling in love."

He looked up at his friend to see the blonde avert his eyes to the ocean, blond brows narrowing in some unknown emotion.

"You should tell her Sora."

"She's not the one-"

"I know that Sora. I'm not _stupid_ or anything," said Zen, his voice low and unusually tranquil with a hint of annoyance.

Sora whipped his face up at him, deep blue eyes filled with apology.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

Silence ensued for a few moments after that, the atmosphere tense in awkwardness and pensive thought about the conversation. Sora felt guilty, feeling in the dark about why his friend took offense. He figured that Zen might have had a bad day earlier or something of that nature. Or maybe he _did_ hit a nerve in the blonde that made him act in irritation.

* * *

At the Seaside Maiden, work was actually a bit hectic. Many more tourists had decided to pour in to visit loved ones in the university and take in the Besaid scenery. After all, summer was going to start soon and that was where the big business for the restaurant was. Caska was sitting in the back, looking over the ideas for the new summer themed menu with the head chef while Cloud watched them bored. It was his lunch break but he didn't really feel like doing anything else. Yet again he and Sephiroth had a huge argument but instead of the blonde being the culprit, as normal in their spats, Sephiroth had been the one to suddenly flip out at him for nothing at all. 

"Cheer up Cloud, that guy isn't good for you anyway," said Caska as he pat his friend in the back. Cloud just sighed and tried to give a weak smile.

"It's just been hard lately. I don't know what's up with him."

The dark haired waiter shrugged as he sat back in the chair, looking over a list of warm desserts.

"He's weird anyway. Maybe you should just give him some space."

"And maybe we should keep focusing on the new menu. It's not going to make itself," grumbled the chef, making Caska laugh.

"Oh come on Paul. There's no need to be so serious about it. Hell, I'm looking right now if it makes you feel so much better," he snickered, bringing a more genuine smile back to the blonde's face.

The cook just rolled his eyes. "Do whatever the hell you want. But this menu better damn well be finished before your shift is over," he said, getting up and walking away.

Caska childishly made faces behind his back and laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder how far that pole is shoved up his ass."

"And sometimes I wonder how old you really are," chuckled Cloud.

The other waiter just smirked, mussing the blonde's hair a little. Just as he did, the young red-headed waiter was rushing into the back room, tugging at his necktie with a frenzy.

"Shit! I can't believe I'm late again!" he cried as he rushed like a tornado past a few startled servers with full piping hot meals balanced awkwardly on their palms.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at the spectacle of Clay practically tearing off his shirt at the lockers with a string of obscenities. Caska leaned over with a laugh and gestured to the panicking teen.

"It's classic. Clay here's actually managed to hook himself a date and he's late for the second time this week," said the raven haired man.

"A date? He must be a looker if it would get a priss like him to act like this."

A loud yelp echoed into the kitchens, making the two laugh loudly and some of the cooks to groan in annoyance. Making their way inside of the locker area, they spied Clay whimpering while he rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"Look who it _is_," mocked Caska, folding his arms with a smug grin. "Late to a date again kid?"

The red head growled lowly and childishly stuck his tongue out, pulling on a snug fitting emerald tee with an intricate gold cross design on the lower left side. His hair was messily pulled out of the hair tie that had previously tamed it, resting choppily on his shoulders as he pulled a section back behind his right ear.

"Cute, very cute. Just the person I want to see right now," Clay grumbled.

Cloud just placed a hand on his hip, watching him in slight curiosity.

"Must be a hot date if you're so frantic over pleasing someone," he stated, earning a sigh from Clay.

"Oh he is di-vine! Not only really hot but great in the sack."

Caska scrunched up his face in disgust. "Okay, bad images. I seriously didn't want the thought of you sleeping with _anyone_ in my brain right now."

"What's he like? Has he been around here before?" asked Cloud, ignoring Caska's gagging sounds.

Pulling up his deep-washed jeans, Clay looked up in thought, nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Oh, I don't think so. He's a real quiet type sometimes so you never know. But if you ever _did_ see him, well, let's just say that he's the kind of guy you wouldn't forget for a long time. He's that gorgeous."

The blonde 'hmm-phed' while the waiter next to him laughed.

"I'm a bit skeptical. After all, if he looks _anywhere_ near as attractive as you say he is, then why would he pick up an annoying little kid like you?" remarked Caska with a grin.

Brushing his hair, Clay just rolled his eyes with a smirk. "It's cause, unlike you, he's a man that definitely knows beauty. Now, excuse me _boys_. I have a date to catch."

Pulling on a loose white and blue plaid button up shirt, he grabbed his keys, wallet, and cell phone, and made his way towards the back door. Caska snickered as he watched the teen hurry off to his date.

"The only thing _he'll_ be catching is an STD," he said, earning a smack on the arm from the blonde.

"You should leave him alone. After all, it's better that _he's_ happy than us having to deal with him being alone and miserable."

They both laughed at the thought and went back to arranging the new menu.

* * *

"Things are just too damn quiet lately," whined Rikku as she pulled two glasses down from the cupboard in her house. Ever since the concert had been over, she had been restless. 

Zenith just shrugged and sat at the small kitchen table. Class had been over early for that day and he had nothing to do until tomorrow.

"I guess it is."

"What do you mean 'you guess'? Riku's been busy doing whatever the hell he does lately and Vincent has become some kind of recluse. Its not even fun getting drunk with them anymore," she pouted, sipping some pineapple soda while passing Zenith his glass.

Swirling the liquid around a little, he sighed before taking a slow sip. Paris Hilton's new song was playing in the background, making him feel a bit sleepy. He never knew why but whenever he listened to the song it always made him want to lay on a hammock and nap.

Thinking about it, there were only a few weeks before they would have to all go home for the summer. Well, he already arranged it with Rikku to stay there at her house so he knew that they could have a pretty good time. But for Vincent, he was just going to go home and so was Riku. And even when school was going to start again, he didn't know how they were going to keep their group together. Vincent was going to be living with another roommate in the apartments and Riku probably was going to live on his own in the condos.

"I'm worried about next year," confessed Zenith, watching the bubbles start to die out in his glass. Rikku paused in thought before drinking a little with a sad frown.

"I know, I am too."

They sat like that for a few moments more, just marinating in the fact that their group might be at its sad end. Paris Hilton continued to sing while the seagulls cawed outside of the windows, the waves rushing up to the beach and then pulling back like the sound of rustling sheets.

"Riku's dating again," said Zenith slowly, trying to start up a conversation. "He told me a couple of days ago."

"Yeah, he called me yesterday. Sounds like he's really happy."

"Yeah."

More silence.

"So…"

"I wonder what he's like. Riku said he's really interesting. I hope that's a good sign," said Zenith.

Rikku shrugged, finishing off her soda. "Don't know. Maybe we might see him next week at the party. He said that he might bring him over this time. But he won't be anything close to how Sora was."

"Yeah, true."

"Vincent must be upset."

At this, Zenith chuckled a little. "Oh yeah, he'll get over it though. It's not like he won't find some pretty girl to bury his issues in. That or he'll get drunk next week and totally forget about it all."

"Yeah, let's hope so."

At the third round of silence, Rikku washed the glasses and put them away while Zenith put his head on his arms on the table, looking out the window, watching the gauze white curtains billowing away from the warm lazy late spring wind. Summer was coming, faster than any of them wanted it to. Even though he had only been at Besaid University for a semester, he felt like he had known his friends for a lifetime. He hated the fact that they were going to be split up just like that. They were almost like a family to him.

Rikku and he just spent the rest of the day watching the television, flicking around from music videos to cheesy vampire movies. Even when they showed Yuna's music videos, Rikku didn't have the compulsion to get up and dance like she normally did. She just listened and turned the channel after they were done.

"I'll miss them, Riku and Vincent."

Zenith leaned back into the sofa and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I will too."

* * *

Sora yawned as he tried to keep awake through his lecture. For the past few weeks, he had been well and ready to just finish the year and get it over with. Looking back on it, it had been so hectic dealing with living on his own, catching up with old friends, and definitely having to deal with Riku. 

Just thinking about him lowered his mood dramatically. Their relationship had ended miserably and for a once, he actually missed being called a fag by the jock. Hell, he even missed having to hear him boast about how wonderful he was and how lame Sora was.

The thought brought him a sad smile as he looked at his notes, doodling a little drawing of a pouting Riku in a stick figure fashion, his hands looking like a pie with twigs coming out of them. Life without Riku was becoming a lot harder than he ever realized. As far as he could remember, the little silver-haired boy had always been in his life in some way or another, even if they didn't have classes together. They always found a way to come into contact and Riku would always tease and humiliate him.

'Stick Riku' looked up at him with a monstrous frown, a pair of horns shaded into his head with the streaky marks of a black ballpoint pen. Sora just smiled at it before looking back at the overhead projection.

'Shit! I already missed a whole page of notes!' thought Sora as he hurriedly flipped to a new sheet of paper and scribbled down everything that he could catch, getting halfway down the notes before the instructor went on to the next slide.

The brunet sighed and tried his best to figure out what the hell they were talking about now. At first they had been conversing about cells and now they were talking about the intricacies of eukaryotic organisms. Not a single word seemed to stick in his head as he got the rest of the notes copied, frowning at his paper.

'Damn Riku. I would have paid attention if you weren't such an asshole,' muttered Sora in his head, glaring at the now closed notebook at the end of class. And he was pretty sure that the stick figure of Riku glared back at him with a wicked little smile.

* * *

"S-Squall?" asked Cloud increduly at the man who was standing in the water. 

Cloud had just left work not so long ago and was dazedly walking the long way back to his house. The whole thought of Clay finding someone gave him a deep sense of lovesickness and loneliness. It didn't make sense to him as he had the one he loved for so long living with him and he should have been at least satisfied. But there was that one piece that he definitely knew was missing.

And it was standing in front of him.

There was a low grunt in confusion as the tall brunet turned his body ever so slowly to face the man that had called out to him. He stood off in the distance, a good ten yards or so away from Cloud and in the shallow part of the ocean, standing and, previously, looking off into the distance in thought. His slightly fair features seemed to glow in the moonlight with a feral beauty, the look of an untamed wolf masked in lunar light.

Cloud took a step back, reeling in the fact that Leon was standing right before him, the very man that seemed to haunt his dreams and robbed him of his sleep, the man that had walked out into the bitter cold in Nibelheim more than five months ago on Saint's Eve, and the very same man that had robbed him of his heart unknowingly so many times. He was standing so calm and beautifully knee deep in the shallow ocean water, wild grey eyes boring into his startled blues.

No words could force themselves from his mouth as Cloud simply watched him in awe, soft lips slightly apart. His very own heart had frozen in silence, too afraid to move and frighten Leon away. For a few moments there was an unsettling silence, the gentle ocean tide lapping at Leon's thighs, his rough brown hair rustling slightly in the saline breeze. His slate eyes shifted downward and then away, turning back to the sky, his back once again to the brunette.

"You shouldn't be here Cloud. Go home."

The blonde watched him in shock, heart fluttering back to life to only sink deep into his stomach at the calm whisper of those words. Go home? Why should he go home when he had no real home to go to?

"I have no home Squall, you know that," he replied sorrowfully. He wrapped his arms around himself as he looked down at the water just reaching his cold toes. A short chuckle filled the air, deep and mocking.

"Oh, so you're homeless now? I can't do anything about that."

"That's not what I mean and you know that," pressed Cloud, a pout fixing itself to his perfect features. The water continued to move through the brunette's legs as he directed his gaze up to the bright and glowing moon. He remained silent, just trying to avert his eyes from the man behind him.

"I need you Squall. I was worried about you and you never contacted me to tell me you were okay. Hell, you could have been dead for all I knew."

More silence ensued, making Cloud sigh in frustration.

"Yeah, lame, I know. But without you, life just isn't so bearable anymore. I feel like I'm falling apart with everyday you aren't home."

"I think that's what a _shrink_ is for," remarked Squall, running his fingers through the water. A small wave slapped against his hips, weaving its way around his body and up towards the shore. Cloud fumed.

"I _know_ that! I'm not stupid after all!" he yelled. A sudden amount of rage crept up his legs and into his torso, making its way to his chest and slamming against his lungs. Everything was just utterly frustrating him. Here he was, worried to death for months on end about Leon's welfare and it seemed that he didn't even care that Cloud had missed him. It even seemed like he didn't care that life for Cloud was becoming almost unbearable without him.

Leon made his way back to the shore, the water dripping off of his legs alluringly as he silently walked passed the seething blonde.

"By the way," started the brunet, slowing his pace a little ways away from his former friend. "You should take your time getting back. Sephiroth left this afternoon while you were away."

And with that, he yet again was gone.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, yet again, a really odd chapter. But then again it is the "season finale" chapter. Thus, I hope that I gave you enough answers about everything and still, maybe, kept your interests in this story. It may be a while for the beginning of the second part of this story but when it is, it'll be a lengthy chapter filled with a lot of goodness. Well, make sure you review or this may be the last chapter of the whole thing. Until the next chapter! 


	10. Circuit 00: No Looking Back

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do. And I do not own the song "Lyudi Invalidy," t.A.T.u. does.

A/N: Well, since I knew that it'll be a while before I officially get the new chapters up and all, I wanted to give something that'll help tide everyone over. I'll be posting revisions of the previous chapters now that I feel that they _are_ horrendously horrible. Embarrassing to say the least. The most I will be doing is just changing some of the dialogue and maybe adding a little more substance. But I'll make sure to notify in the beginning of my new chapters if there's anything that might be interesting added.

Anyway, I hope that this preview for the next season of _Believe in Me_ will reflect the actual story pretty good. There are so many interesting additions to the plot that will make it worth the wait. New love interests, new students, broken friendships, and even a character death. It'll get a lot more like a drama but it'll definitely be worth it to continue reading. Plus my writing style will have greatly improved from the beginning of this story. It'll be darker and more complex but still have its tender moments.

One thing that I'd also like to mention is that this season will have a theme song. Well, actually a song that embodies the story that is already in existence. Check out the song "Lyudi Invalidy" by t.A.T.u. It's available to hear for a limited time on Myspace under their artist profile. Just search under music. The slow version with the lyrics truly embodies the feelings of the new season to a 'T' and I hope that you'll like it as well.

Well, I hope you enjoy the preview and please review with your responses. It definitely helps in this stage to tell me if something in the story should be changed or could be added.

**Note:**Looking at this chapter, I'm a little embarrassed but I'll post it anyway. It needs to be seen. It takes place between Circuit 2 and 3. Enjoy!

--

**Believe in Me: Season II**

_**Circuit 00: No Looking Back**_

-----

They walked down the beach hand in hand, the waves caressing their bare feet. It was enough for Kairi to be with Sora, though lately she began to feel as if she no longer knew who her boyfriend was. He was increasingly attentive, a little too much. They went out together three times a week when normally they might see each other on the weekends if they happened to be in the area or had nothing else to do.

She looked at the pink beaded bracelet that he had recently bought for her. It really was beautiful and she really _did_ want to it when she saw the thing at the store. However, it seemed a bit like he was trying to _overachieve_ in their relationship, not like he really was thinking about her.

"My feet are freezing, can we go back now?" she asked, rubbing her cold arms.

His bright eyes looked her over in concern and rubbed a hand across the goose-bumps on her shoulder. Sure enough, he was able to see that she was getting cold. Though it was barely noon, it was still quickly becoming autumn.

"Sure," he nodded, handing her her flimsy straw sandals. Slipping on his own, he reclaimed her hand and walked them up the beach through the warmer sand.

The grains felt nice on their chilly toes, making Kairi smile at the sensation. She had to resist the urge to bury herself in the golden warmth and never leave.

Letting go of his hand, she crouched down onto her haunches and picked away at the remains of dry seaweed, tossing them to the side. Sora watched her curiously, not really understanding what she was looking for.

"What are you doing?" he asked, kneeling down next to her, an eyebrow quirked in confusion.

She looked up at him with shimmering violet eyes and smiled behind her bangs, the sunlight catching on her cheeks. Her hands wiggled deep into the sand and massaged its way to the warm depths of the ground. The more she spread her fingers out in the ground, the more it seemed as if the warmth spread through her body. It was the most invigorating thing that she had ever felt.

Closing her eyes, she slowly pulled her hands out of the sand, knowing that she couldn't stay there forever.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. I was just having fun," she whispered.

Sora chuckled and mussed her hair playfully, making her pout.

"You've been acting weird lately, are you okay Kai?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

She smiled lightly as she looked down at the sand as she walked a little ahead, hands clasped behind her back as she always did. The wind started to pick up and tousled her hair to a fro, making her close her eyes in satisfaction. Sometimes, at moments like that, that she wished she could just float away without a care in the world.

With each day that Sora seemed to stop caring about her and that Selphie spent with Tidus, she felt alone. It was as if no one ever needed her. Sure, she and Selphie were very close and still were in many ways. However, she felt like the third wheel, or whenever Sora was there, like she was forgotten. They would laugh and talk about other things and they'd never notice that she hadn't even spoken in the entire conversation.

Nibbling on her lower lip, she pulled on a soft smile, one that she was used to giving.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all," she lied smoothly.

And he believed it.

She wanted to tell him that everything was wrong, that she was feeling so lonely that she didn't even understand why she was even there, why she even needed to exist there at all. If she had to leave all of her friends behind and go someplace far away, she knew that she wouldn't feel very sad at all. It was already as if they were so far away. Like the warmth of the sand that was between her fingers, it seemed to retreat from her the deeper she burrowed, as if her icy touch might kill it.

Rubbing her arms, as she let Sora drive her car, she fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. Its smooth pink beads sparkled and shined up at her, as if willing her to get better, wanting her to smile and believe in her heart that she was really a happy person. She rested her elbow on the window and propped her chin on her hand, the icy wind blowing against her smooth and youthful face.

She didn't know when but when they slowly pulled up to the driveway and Sora walked around the other side of the car, her face was wet with tears that she didn't even know appeared.

With a smile, she blamed the wind.

In her heart she really blamed _him_.

--

Riku pulled on his jeans, stifling a yawn. It was early that morning, sunrise to be exact, and he had been unfortunately woken up by his boyfriend. He was in the middle of a nice dream but, when it came to the always restless redhead, it never really was an option.

He could hear rustling in the corner of the small apartment and yawned again, this time not caring to swallow it down. The smell of breakfast was wafting through the room, easing his mind a little. At least he was going to get fed for it.

Standing up , he scratched the back of his head tiredly as he made his way over to the kitchen.

"Remind me why I have to be awake at this ungodly hour again," groaned Riku, leaning against the side of the counter, slipping his arm around the Clay's waist.

Clay added a bit of pepper to the eggs in the pan, sneezing to the side and away from the food.

"Geez I hate when that happens," muttered the redhead with slightly watery eyes.

Riku simply shrugged before making his way to the refrigerator for something to snack on. Clay had the tendency of being oddly dismissive whenever he was cooking or cleaning. At first it bothered him, since he was normally very playful just s second before. However, he learned that he didn't try to simply ignore him, it was just the way that he was.

A few moments later found them sitting out on the small rickety wood balcony, overlooking the town. Clay lived away from the college, being raised in Besaid and more familiar with the actual city. It wasn't the best neighborhood, being a bit run down and mostly where the poorest of the islanders lived. The sky wasn't as beautiful in the mornings as by the ocean, with the old complexes and projects marring the otherwise eerily pristine view.

However, Riku liked it. Being used to the perfectly groomed landscapes and scenery of Destiny Islands and Besaid U, he enjoyed looking into the alleyway below and watching the dirty cats play in the dumpsters. It was foreign to him and it was exciting.

With a flick of a lighter, Clay lit up the cheap cigarette that rested in his pillowy pink lips, eyes blankly watching as the sun rose above the dingy neighborhood. He blew a thin stream of wispy smoke into the cold air, letting it mix in with the fog of his warmed breath and licked his drying lips.

Riku looked over at his boyfriend, watching him suck in another mouthful of nicotine laced smoke. Clay's cheeks flushed from the cold of the wind, his long auburn lashes fluttering as the smoke stung his eyes. It was times like that, when they were truly alone and away from everyone else that Clay seemed so fragile. As if he was some sort of ghost that would suddenly disappear in front of his very eyes. True, the boy _did_ seem very resilient and strong when he needed to be, and very cheerful and outgoing. However, when he was watching the skyline and smoking one of his cigarettes, Riku truly noticed Clay's emotional walls.

Clay lowered his soft hazel eyes and tapped off the ash from his cigarette, watching it drift down to the dirty concrete below.

"You've been looking at my cigarette for ages Riku. If you wanna try one you can just ask," chuckled Clay boyishly, the sunlight playing on the green flecks in his eyes.

Riku flushed slightly, not noticing his intent stare for so long.

The wind picked up and blew at the younger's thick orangey hair, making it whip and blow around his face as he smiled and held the smoldering stick to the other.

"Nah, I don't believe in smoking," replied Riku, well used to Ansem offering him a smoke in high school. He'd known what the effects were. Even just breathing in the tainted air with him was damaging enough, at least how the books and doctors said.

Clay smirked like a Cheshire cat, his eyes narrowing in full playfulness as he slowly inhaled another puff of smoke, blowing it out in a thin sensual ribbon of golden gray.

"I'm not dead yet am I?" he asked with a tone that dared him to contradict him, to say that he seemed okay now but that he would die from cancer soon enough. That the books said that his lungs would turn gray with tar and erode with holes. That the commercials said that he was endangering everyone around him with his filthy habit. That the _doctors_ said that in a matter of years he would have to have a hole in his neck so he could breathe because of the emphysema.

Riku blinked, at a loss for words. There was nothing that he could say that wouldn't make him seem like an ignorant little boy, listening to anything that his parents told him, that his beautiful boyfriend was a 'bad man' that would try to trick him into hurting himself.

The cat-like grin stayed strong as Clay laughed, his breaths rich and strong.

"You're such a pussy rich boy. Don't you even think on your own or do you have 'Daddy' do it for you?"

He took in another suck of smoke, the end of the cigarette becoming red as the paper and the tobacco burned from the inhalation before turning a docile gray black again. Riku hated it but he was right. Nothing was stopping him from taking the cigarette and smoking to his heart's content. His mind was only spewing out many 'he said, she said' scenarios that had once assured him that he didn't even want to smoke. However, he knew that he was only following what people said, not what _he_ truly wanted.

Watching Clay redirect his now calm eyes to the now risen sun, he felt frustrated. He knew at that moment that he wanted to take him on his offer, to try something that many people said would kill him in due time. And maybe it would. However, Riku knew that he was tired of playing it safe, of waiting until things were ready in their appropriate times.

He listened to Ansem and his group and fooled around with girls that he never cared for in his life, let alone knew. With Sora, he let his reputation and fear hold him back from pursuing what he wanted. And he waited patiently with no complaint when Sora said that he wasn't ready for him, that he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave Kairi, even though the boy was obviously showing interest in Zen. And he let Sora walk over his heart without a word, all because he had learned that _that_ was what love was supposed to be about. Love was supposed to be able to forgive whatever may come, as long as there could be happiness at the end of the tunnel.

But how was he to know that there would be something good in the end? That he would hate being publicly ridiculed for being open about himself and the one he loved? How was he to know that taking that cigarette in that exact moment would kill him in twenty years time? Would he even care by then?

Puffing at the end of the cigarette, Clay pouted, and snubbed it out on the wood railing, leaving a scorch mark along the many others before tossing it over the side and down to the alleyway with the rest of the filth.

"Well," he said, the remaining smoke puffing out of his mouth with a sharp exhale. The air was becoming warm and he wanted to get inside and get dressed so that they could be on time for class. "That was fun while it lasted. Can't stay out here forever sweets."

As he moved away from the edge and started back to the sliding glass, Riku placed a hand on his arm, guiding him back in front of him. The balcony creaked as they shifted, Riku leaning back against the old wooden railing and wrapping his arms around the redhead, hazel eyes looking up at him in confusion. The yellow sunlight illuminated the side of Clay's face, the rest protected in the shadow of Riku's tall warm body.

Leaning down, Riku gave a soft kiss against his pouting mouth, enjoying the slight taste of what he guessed to be nicotine as he flicked his tongue at his lower lip. He pulled back for a second, his warm breath puffing out slowly as he kept his aquamarine gaze with the other. His heart raced as he kissed him yet again, deep and searching, tasting the exotically foreign taste.

Clay sighed and leaned into the kiss, rubbing his tongue against Riku's eager one, moaning as Riku pulled him closer.

Placing his hands on the older man's chest, Clay gave a one last juicy kiss before moving back a little, eyebrow quirked in amusement. His reddened lips curled into a grin as he brushed his bangs away from his face with a quick sweep of his hand.

"Whoa tiger, what was _that_ all about?" he asked, knowing full well that whatever Riku wanted would have to be quick since Clay's first lecture was at eight o' clock.

Riku leaned forward, his hot breath tickling his boyfriend's ear as he seductively whispered what he wanted.

"Got an extra one?"

Looking back up to the older man with a smirk, Clay reached into the pocket of his wrinkled jeans from last night and pulled out an extra white cigarette. He slowly placed it between his lips, cupping the end from the wind as he lit it with a flick from the lighter and a few starting puffs.

Clay breathed in deeply, removing the cigarette from his mouth and placing it on Riku's lips, an expectant gaze in his eyes.

Awkwardly, Riku inhaled hesitantly, feeling a sharp burn from the smoke at the back of his throat, making him cough roughly. He turned to the side, feeling as if his lungs were burning, making him instantly regret even trying it in the first place. How could someone enjoy something like that anyway?

Chuckling, Clay took a puff.

"You want me to put it out?" he asked, not really feeling up for smoking the entire thing.

Riku looked back at the cigarette in his boyfriend's hand. Now he was determined to do it. If someone as young as Clay could smoke, then _he_ could definitely do it.

Taking Clay's hand, he took a slow and small puff, allowing his virgin mouth and lungs to get used to the feeling. A moment later, he slowly blew out a clumsy cloud of white gray smoke.

His boyfriend smiled, puffing a little and blowing to the wind without a care for the world, allowing Riku to gaze upon him.

"Clay, you just might be the death of me," whispered Riku, the tantalizing taste of nicotine swirling inside of his mouth.

Clay's hazel eyes took on a cat-like amber quality as the sun lit his irises, grinning as he took in another drag of smoke.

They made love shortly after, writhing on the bathroom mat before they were to take their shower. Riku indulged in the taste of smoke and nicotine on his lover's tongue as they let the steamy hot water run. It was as if a fire had been sparked in him, his mind running wild with the almost dizzying feeling.

"Christ, I should have given you a cigarette earlier," panted Clay, nibbling his lips as he delighted in each deep penetrating thrust.

When they laid side by side on the tiled floor, heart racing with excitement as Riku laid his hand on his forehead, he didn't care to turn off the water, not concerned that it might get cold if they wait too long. And he didn't even care that they would be cutting it close on getting to the campus in time for their first lectures. He was relaxed, as if the life could wait on him instead of the other way around.

Closing his eyes, he imagined he was standing in a land with a large bustling city that was now in front of him, gates swinging open with a large sign in blinking neon lights.

'Welcome to the World; enjoy your stay.'

He definitely knew that he would and, as far as he was concerned, there was no looking back.

* * *

Well, what do you think? Lame huh? Yeah, I know. And I know that some people are pretty pissed wondering why Clay is with Riku and why Sora is still putzing around with Kairi. It'll all make sense as I post more chapters. And those will definitely be soon! I promise! It's almost entirely written out. 


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